Fantasy Fallout: Kelley to Temporarily Play Hero For Papelbon Owners

Here are the fantasy repercussions following the Washington Nationals placing closer Jonathan Papelbon on the 15-day disabled list with an intercostal strain.

Season-Long Fantasy

Unless you're being ever the contrarian, relievers will rarely impact DFS. In season-long, seeing Papelbon go down will cause a wave of audible groans as a tenuous roster spot gets even thinner.

Papelbon owners need to slide him into a DL slot and rush to the waiver wire for his replacement, Shawn Kelley. Kelley holds a 13.11 K/9 through 23 1/3 innings with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.96 FIP. He's available in most leagues, but should see his ownership spike as news of Papelbon's injury spreads.

Don't just call it a day by adding Kelley, however, as lefty reliever Felipe Rivero could also contend for the spot or, conceivably, split time with Kelley if they go with matchups. For the time being, and it could be a limited amount of time, Kelley is the way to go after he made a five-out save on Monday.

Due to the long-term uncertainty around Kelley, it's best not to commit too much of your FAAB budget to the reliever. It will be a short-term solution, even if Papelbon is gone longer than the minimum.

Waiver Wire Targets

In addition to Kelley and Rivero, this is a good time to pursue the following options could be welcome alternatives:

• Carlos Estevez, Colorado Rockies: In his last three appearances, Estevez has registered two holds, a save and six strikeouts over three scoreless innings. He's probably already owned in many deeper leagues, but he seems to be the man to own at the back end of the Rockies' bullpen.

• Kelvin Herrera, Kansas City Royals: If your league counts holds, Herrera is likely rostered. Most pitchers in positions to collect saves are, too. Why not bolster pitching numbers with Herrera's 1.74 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 10.64 K/9. It's a preferable choice to a borderline starter.

• Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds: It's a rocky situation in Cincinnati, but Cingrani has managed four consecutive scoreless outings that included two saves and a hold. He's still hardly owned, likely because the Reds aren't poised to be a consistent winner. Nonetheless, he'll be in the mix for ninth-inning duties with recently activated J.J. Hoover.