Manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday that he plans to use Robles as the Angels' closer to begin the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
After emerging as the Angels' closer early in the 2019 season and converting 23 of 27 save chances to go with shiny ratios (2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 9.3 K/9), Robles' status as the team's top end gamer was never in much doubt, though Maddon still made the right-hander earn the job in summer camp. Perhaps more notable than Robles being minted as the closer was the fact that Maddon said he doesn't envision the 29-year-old working multiple innings in his appearances early on during the season. That could imply some level of rigidity in Robles' role, which bodes well for him seeing nearly all of the Angels' save chances instead of occasionally being reserved for higher-leverage, non-save scenarios.