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In baseball, a setup pitcher (or set-up pitcher, sometimes called the setup man) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the 7th and/or 8th innings, with the closer pitching the 9th.

The concept of a team having a defined setup pitcher is a relatively new one which has been aided by the addition of the statistical category of holds. The role, however, remains a flexible and sometimes ill-defined one. Setup pitchers, unlike closers, commonly appear in games where their team is tied or even behind, making the designation of setup pitcher representative of only a certain number - perhaps under half - of the pitcher's appearances within a season. However, it is fairly common for a young setup man that achieves success to be moved to the closer role.

Accolades for setup men are few and far between; occasionally they will be selected to the All-Star Team (Brendan Donnelly, Hideki Okajima, and Mike Stanton, for instance) or receive votes for the Cy Young Award or MVP (Mariano Rivera finished 3rd in the AL Cy Young voting in 1996).

Teams commonly have a right-handed and a left-handed setup pitcher in their bullpens.

Notable Major League Baseball pitchers who have held the role of setup pitcher for a significant period of time include:

• Heath Bell
• Brian Fuentes
• Mariano Rivera
• Hideki Okajima
• Rafael Betancourt
• Octavio Dotel
• Brad Lidge
• Justin Duchscherer
• Alan Embree
• Duaner Sanchez
• Tom Gordon
• Cla Meredith
• Scott Linebrink
• Scott Radinsky
• Casey Janssen
• Scott Downs
• Jeff Nelson
• Paul Quantrill
• Arthur Rhodes
• Scot Shields
• Mike Timlin
• Duane Ward
• Chad Qualls
• Joel Zumaya
• Dan Wheeler
• Brandon Lyon
• Jonathan Broxton

Many of these pitchers, including Rivera, Lidge, Dotel, Ward, Gordon, and Wheeler, have also served as closers at one time or another; Rivera served as setup man for John Wetteland on the 1996 New York Yankees championship team, and the club was so impressed by his pitching that they let Wetteland leave as a free agent and handed Rivera the closer's job.

Current set-up men for MLB teams.

NL East

ATL Mike Gonzalez 2007 FLA Armando Benitez 2007 NYM Duaner Sanchez/Aaron Heilman 2006 PHI Tom Gordon 2008 WAS Jon Rauch 2006

NL Central 

CHC Bobby Howry 2005 CIN David Weathers/Mike Stanton 2008/2007 HOU Undetermined MIL Salomon Torres 2008 PIT Damaso Marte 2008 STL Josh Kinney 2007

NL West 

ARI Brandon Lyon 2006 COL Brian Fuentes 2007 LAD Jonathan Broxton 2007 SD Cla Meredith 2006 SF Undetermined

AL East Club Player Since BAL Danys Baez 2007 BOS Mike Timlin/Hideki Okajima 2004/2007 NYY Joba Chamberlain 2007 TB Dan Wheeler 2007 TOR Jason Frasor 2005

AL Central  

CWS Scott Linebrink 2008 CLE Rafael Betancourt/Rafael Pérez 2004/2007 DET Fernando Rodney/Joel Zumaya 2005/2006 KC Undetermined MIN Juan Rincon/Pat Neshek 2005/2007

AL West 

LAA Scot Shields 2005 OAK Justin Duchscherer 2006 SEA Arthur Rhodes 2008 TEX Joaquin Benoit 2007