What It Means:

This seems to confirm Melvin's comments from last Tuesday, when he said the roles in the Athletics' bullpen this season would likely be "fluid." Ryan Madson was expected to open 2017 as Oakland's primary closer after leading the club with 30 saves last year, but it looks like Santiago Casilla and Sean Doolittle will have plenty of opportunity to claim the job for themselves.

numberFire's models believe Madson will eventually seize the gig, and we project him to lead Oakland with 23 saves in 2017 while recording a 3.57 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 21.1 strikeout percentage across 65 2/3 innings.