Raisel Iglesias

Iglesias struck out all three batters he faced as he earned the save in a 4-1 victory Sunday over Oakland. Facing the middle of the Oakland lineup, Iglesias needed just 12 pitches to strike out the side. It was his second straight excellent outing after losing consecutive appearances. The veteran is 10-for-11 in save opportunities and has a solid 22:4 K:BB despite having a 4.02 ERA. As long as he can keep the ball in the park, his numbers should continue to improve and look more like the high-level closer he has been in recent history.

Iglesias saved Saturday's 5-3 win against Oakland, striking out two in the ninth inning. Iglesias entered in the ninth inning to protect a three-run lead and retired the side on an efficient nine pitches, including two strikeouts. The 32-year-old was able to get back on track following two poor outings, and manager Joe Maddon's decision to stick with Iglesias despite the recent rough patch solidifies his role as closer.

Iglesias (1-2) took the loss during Wednesday's 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Rangers, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit with one strikeout in one-third of an inning. Iglesias entered a 4-4 tie with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth and induced a Jonah Heim strikeout to neutralize the threat. Los Angeles scored one in the top of the 10th and Iglesias stayed to finish things up, but he served up a Nathaniel Lowe walk-off homer on the very first pitch. After converting all eight save opportunities prior to Saturday, the 32-year-old has surrendered walk-off long balls in consecutive appearances that have upped his ERA from 2.13 to 4.61.

Raisel Iglesias signed a four-year, $58 million contract in the offseason, signing up to be the LA Angels' long-term franchise closer. So far this season, he hasn't quite lived up to the hype. He dominated in his contract year in 2021, recording 34 saves and a 2.57 ERA. So far this season, however, it hasn't gone that way.

Iglesias gave up a walkoff three-run home run in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the A's, suffering his first blown save of the season. He gave up two hits and a walk with zero strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning. Luis Barrera took Iglesias deep on a hanging breaking...

Iglesias saved Friday's 2-0 win against the Athletics, striking out one in a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Iglesias was tasked with protecting a 2-0 lead and retired the Athletics in order on 13 pitches. Aside from a hiccup on May 1, the 32-year-old has gone 10 outings and 9.1 innings without surrendering a run and boasts a 2.13 ERA and 0.71 WHIP.

Iglesias allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in Sunday's win over the White Sox. He struck out one batter. Iglesias entered the game with one out and a runner on second. After striking out the first batter he faced, the 32-year-old put the next five White Sox on base. His outing was finished after he plunked Jose Abreu with the bases loaded, but Ryan Tepera was able to notch the one-out save to escape with the victory. Iglesias saw his season ERA jump from 0.96 to 2.79 through 9.2 frames.

Iglesias recorded two outs to convert a save chance against the White Sox on Friday. He walked one batter and struck out another. Iglesias entered the game with one out and two runners on base. After issuing a two-out walk to Jose Abreu, he retired Luis Robert to escape the bases-loaded threat and preserve the 5-1 victory. The 32-year-old is 6-for-6 in save opportunities with a 0.96 ERA this season.

Iglesias earned the save against the Guardians on Thursday, pitching a scoreless inning during which he allowed one hit and struck out one batter. Iglesias allowed a Jose Ramirez single to start the ninth inning but proceeded to strike out Owen Miller before inducing a double play to close out the contest. The closer needed just 12 total pitches to wrap up his fifth save of the campaign. Iglesias has allowed only one earned run and has yet to issue a walk across 8.2 frames this season.

Iglesias saved Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Guardians, striking out both batters he faced in the ninth inning. Los Angeles entered the ninth with a 4-0 lead, but a one-out Jose Ramirez RBI double prompted manager Joe Maddon to call in his closer with the game now a save situation. Iglesias stuck out Franmil Reyes and Owen Miller on nine pitches to record his fourth save in what is already his eighth appearance. The 32-year-old has now retired 23 of the 25 batters he's faced on the season.

Iglesias earned a save against the Guardians on Monday, pitching a perfect inning during which he struck out one batter. Iglesias had a three-run lead to work with when he entered in the ninth inning, and he set Cleveland down without issue, needing just seven pitches to retire three batters. The veteran closer has been nearly lights-out across seven appearances this season, allowing only one run on two hits while registering an 8:0 K:BB across seven innings.

Iglesias allowed one hit in a scoreless inning during Friday's win over Texas. He struck out two and earned a save. Iglesias gave up a leadoff single to Corey Seager but was able to retire the next three Rangers in order, including back-to-back punchouts of Mitch Garver and Adolis Garcia. The 32-year-old righty has converted both of his save chances this season and is now sporting a 2.25 ERA with four strikeouts through four appearances.

Iglesias (1-0) picked up the win in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over the Marlins, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning. The Angels' closer breezed through his frame on 14 pitches (nine strikes) before his teammates pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Iglesias has a win and a save through his first three appearances as he looks to build on an impressive 2021 campaign that saw him establish a new career high with a 37.7 percent strikeout rate while tying his personal best with 34 saves.

Iglesias earned the save Saturday against the Astros after tossing a scoreless inning, striking out one. Iglesias was almost perfect when called upon duty, as he tossed seven of his eight pitches for strikes and got the job done quickly to protect Los Angeles' two-run lead in the top of the ninth. Iglesias has posted an ERA below the 2.75 threshold in each of the last two seasons and is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he recorded 34 saves while posting a 2.57 ERA.

LA Angels Manager Joe Maddon recently revealed interesting plans for how he plans to use elite closer Raisel Iglesias for the 2022 season:. There truly are two sides to this approach. On one hand, Iglesias is one of very few pitchers in baseball these days who can still pitch at a high level over more than just one inning. He's great at it, and should get the chance to continue exceling in the role he's best at.

Iglesias will fill a conventional closer role this season and is not expected to be used for more than one inning, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports. Iglesias was the Angels' unquestioned closer last season, recording 34 of the team's 39 saves. That won't change this year, but what will apparently change is his usage. Iglesias recorded at least four outs in 16 of his 65 appearances last season, something which the Angels are now looking to avoid. That could slightly reduce the righty's overall workload, but his overall value shouldn't change significantly.

Iglesias (personal) arrived at the Angels' big-league camp Wednesday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports. Iglesias wasn't able to report to camp immediately after the lockout ended while he tended to a family matter, but his arrival Wednesday gives him plenty of time to continue his buildup program in advance of Opening Day. After re-upping with the Angels this offseason on a four-year, $58 million deal, Iglesias looks to be one of the closers with the very high job security, He completed his first season in Anaheim with a 2.57 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a 103:12 K:BB in 70 innings while scooping up seven wins and going 34-for-39 in save opportunities.

The Los Angeles Angels are clearly looking forward to the 2022 campaign. They have restocked their pitching staff, potentially adding a second top of the rotation arm while giving their bullpen a needed boost. Keeping Raisel Iglesias, and locking him in on a four year deal, was a key part of ensuring the bullpen remained as strong as possible.

Raisel Iglesias recently revealed his goal for his 2022 season with the LA Angels, and it's massive:. While that's a giant goal, it's certainly one that's attainable for Iglesias, as he kind of pointed out there. Iglesias is undoubtedly one of the best closers in the game. Not only does he have those two 34 save seasons under his belt, but in these last two years, he's posted a 2.61 ERA and 2.58 FIP.

During Award Season back in October, a good bit of time was spent in this space examining the MVP and Cy Award races in both leagues. I never did get around to the best closers. That situation is being remedied this week. Earlier, we looked at the NL. The closers...