Marlins manager Don Mattingly is prepping David Phelps not as a starter and not as a short reliever, but as an arm available to try to win the game from the fourth inning onward.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch figures if he is going to shorten Chris Devenski to a one-inning-at-a-time reliever, “I might as well start him.”
The aggressive use of elite late-inning relievers last postseason — notably Andrew Miller — raised the issue whether teams were going to use their closer types earlier and for more innings come the 2017 regular season.
The answer, in general, is no.