Once again, most of the changes taking place in major league bullpens has little to do with the top relievers in the game. Rather, murky situations have emerged in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, and trade talks are compromising the jobs of lefties Brian Fuentes and George Sherrill.

There are more questions than answers in Cleveland after manager Eric Wedge removed struggling Joe Borowski from the closer role. Trusted set-up man Rafael Betancourt has already faltered once in ninth-inning duties, which makes Masa Kobayashi the most likely to pick up saves. One or the other will emerge as a more effective option than Borowski.

The Pirates announced on Wednesday that closer Matt Capps would miss the next two months with a sore right shoulder. While there has been no news of a surefire replacement, common sense would side with left-hander Damaso Marte, who is experienced and effective. Fantasy owners should root for this outcome over any situation that involves Tyler Yates, John Grabow or Rumelo Sanchez.

Dan Wheeler returns to the head of a “mini-committee” in Tampa Bay as a result of Troy Percival’s second bout with a hamstring injury. There are other options available - J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour and Al Reyes - but Wheeler will get the majority of opportunities. This has the potential to turn into a long-term situation with such a tricky injury to 38-year old Percival.

The full rankings with accompanying notes. Previous notes are in brackets:

1. Francisco Rodriguez, LAA: ERA (1.93) falling as fast as saves total (34) is rising [1]
2. Jonathan Papelbon, BOS: Sox struggles robbing him of save opportunities  [2]
3. Mariano Rivera, NYY: Nearly perfect; has 0.96 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, 22-for-22 saves [3]
4. Kerry Wood, CHC: Went 2-0 with 0.82 ERA, 7 saves in 11 IP in superb June [5]
5. Brad Lidge, PHI: Phils’ struggles costing him; has one save opp since June 12 [4]
6. Joe Nathan, MIN: On pace for 4th sub-2.00 ERA in last 5 seasons [6]
7. Joakim Soria, KC: Only Mariano has lower WHIP among closers than his 0.75 [9]
8. Billy Wagner, NYM: In 11 full seasons, has never finished with ERA above 2.85 [8]
9. Brandon Lyon, ARI: Tough past week; has 2 losses in last 3 appearances [10]
10. Takashi Saito, LAD: Value skyrockets if Dodgers provided more save chances [13]

11. Francisco Cordero, CIN: Is 3-0 with 1.37 ERA and 8 saves in 20 home games [15]
12. Jose Valverde, HOU: Still saving games, but getting hit around in the process [12]
13. George Sherrill, BAL: With June struggles and trade talks, good time to sell [7]
14. Jon Rauch, WAS: Gets more job security with Chad Cordero out for year [20]
15. Kevin Gregg, FLA: Gets few save chances, but leads all closers with 6 wins [18]
16. Bobby Jenks, CHW: Bad back doesn’t look like long-term worry [11]
17. Huston Street, OAK: His usual self, except has allowed career-high 6 HRs [21]
18. Brian Wilson, SF: Not much to like in 4.41 ERA, 1.47 WHIP [17]
19. B.J. Ryan, TOR: Sharing hurts value; has just 16 of Jays’ 26 saves [22]
20. Trevor Hoffman, SD: .248 BAA, .457 slugging highest marks of career [19]

21. Salomon Torres, MIL: Gagne back and ready to re-take job if Torres struggles [24]
22. Todd Jones, DET: If healthy, Zumaya not a threat to unseat him as closer [25]
23. Brian Fuentes, COL: Trade, return to set-up role are foregone conclusions [23]
24. Brandon Morrow, SEA: Putz (elbow) still weeks away from return [28]
25. C.J. Wilson, TEX: On the hot seat, but candidates to take job are shaky at best [26]
26. Mike Gonzalez, ATL: Opportunities have been limited since return from DL [30]
27. Ryan Franklin, STL: With recent struggles, Izzy could take job back soon [27]
28. Dan Wheeler, TB: Percival’s 2nd stint on DL may create long-term opening [NR]
29. Masa Kobayashi, CLE: Most logical choice to fill Tribe’s vacated closer role [NR]
30. Damaso Marte, PIT: Good bet to emerge as replacement for injured Capps [NR]

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.