Fantasy baseball owners are used to plenty of turnover when it comes to who gets saves. But closer meltdowns in this year’s postseason could help make 2010 even more volatile than usual.

It is possible that six of the eight playoff teams could have new closers next season.

All four of the closers on the losing teams in the division series suffered blown saves. Two of these relievers may no longer be closing nest year, while the other two may unexpectedly find themselves on the trading block.

Huston Street not only blew a save for the Rockies, but lost another game. Street, who did not win Colorado’s closer job until the end of spring training, is finishing a one-year, $4.5M contract. After his disastrous postseason, there is a good chance the Rockies will go in a different direction than the arbitration-eligible Street.

The Cardinals’ Ryan Franklin (pictured) would have gotten the save in Game 2 if Matt Holliday had not made an error on what should have been the final out. But after the error, Franklin allowed two hits and two walks to earn the blown save.

Franklin did not become the St. Louis closer until after the season began. He was lights-out much of the year and made the All-Star team. But Franklin faltered in September, blowing three saves with an ERA of 7.56 for the month. In that fateful Game 2, Franklin did not start the ninth, but came in after lefty Trever Miller had faced lefthanded hitter Andre Ethier.

Next season, Franklin, who had never before been a fulltime closer, will be 37. The Cardinals will likely at least look at alternatives.

Minnesota’s Joe Nathan has been one of the best regular-season closers since 2004. But after blowing one save and allowing two inherited runners to score in another game, Nathan now has a career postseason 7.88 ERA and 2.38 WHIP.

In recent years, the Twins have lost stars Johan Santana and Torii Hunter. Now homegrown hero Joe Mauer is a year away from free agency. After Nathan’s playoff meltdown, a Minneapolis Star Tribune writer suggested trading the closer, who is owed $22.5M over the next two years, to free up money for a new contract for Mauer.

In an accompanying Star Tribune poll, 48% of the 9000 votes were in favor of trading Nathan.

Before Sunday, Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon was unscored upon in 26 postseason innings, many of which came when he was the closer for Boston’s 2007 title team. But after allowing three runs in the ninth inning to cost the Red Sox Game 3 and eliminate them from the postseason, there is much speculation that he will take the fall for the team’s playoff failure.

As with Nathan, Papelbon would likely be in great demand if he were put on the trading block and would still be a closer wherever he ended up.

There is uncertainty even among the closers of the remaining playoff teams. Despite leading the majors this season with 48 saves, the Angels’ Brian Fuentes was in danger of losing his closer job in September. Fuentes had a 4.81 ERA and 1.68 WHIP after the All-Star break. So far in this postseason, Fuentes has two saves in two appearances, both scoreless.

Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge also has two saves in two scoreless appearances this postseason. But after a miserable season in which Lidge blew 11 saves while compiling a putrid 7.21 ERA and 1.81 WHIP, he is on a very short leash. Fortunately for Lidge, setup man Ryan Madson has been charged with two blown saves already this postseason.

The remaining two closers in the playoffs are the Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton and the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera. Broxton struck out 114 in 76 innings this year and held batters to a .165 batting average. Rivera, the best closer in history, seems better than ever despite being a month and a half away from turning 40. Both Broxton and Rivera have performed at their usual high levels so far this postseason.

Both the Yankees and Dodgers will enjoy big advantages at closer in the LCS. But recent history shows that is no guarantee of victory. The last two teams to defeat the Yankees and the great Mariano in the playoffs were the 2006 Tigers, with Todd Jones at closer, and the 2007 Indians, whose closer was Joe Borowski.

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Photo by shgmom56.

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