Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Committees, Confusion, and Ineffectiveness

Well, it has been more than two weeks since the trade deadline, and bullpens are a mess. Again. What’s new?

While some bullpens have clear-cut roles, and everyone knows who is getting the save chances, still others have devolved into chaos. By my count this week, there are at least eight bullpens that are committees with at least two members; some teams have as many as four pitchers vying for the saves.

With that being said, each week we will try to make sense of it as you chase down saves (and maybe holds) in your leagues. We are in the home stretch now, and every category counts in fantasy baseball.

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report

AL East

Keegan Akin keeps the job in Baltimore despite shaky results. Or is he keeping the job?  On Thursday night, he pitched in the seventh inning. Dietrich Enns got the save, so maybe this is becoming a committee situation?  The team announced that closer Felix Bautista would miss the rest of the season. Yennier Cano could also see some chances here. Tough times in Baltimore.

It appears that David Bednar is the closer in New York, but there had not been any opportunities there this week, until Friday, and Bednar converted it. Devin Williams has been relegated to a middle relief role, while the top setup guys are Luke Weaver and Camilo Doval. With four guys who can close, this could be a situation in flux the rest of the season.

AL Central

The committee continues in Chicago. Grant Taylor and Jordan Leasure got the two saves this week in this bullpen, and both share the team lead at four saves. Taylor has the better stuff, but Leasure has more experience and has six career saves. Look for manager Will Venable to continue to mix and match the back end of his bullpen.

Detroit is an interesting back-and-forth between Kyle Finnegan and Will Vest. Finnegan got the save chances last week, but this week, Vest has gotten both saves. Finnegan did pitch in both games that Vest saved; he pitched the eighth inning, and Vest got the ninth in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. I am calling this a committee until we see more game usage.

Carlos Estevez has run across some hard times in Kansas City. While he does have three saves this week, giving him 31 on the season, he also took two losses. Lucas Erceg earned a save on a much-needed day off for Estevez on Tuesday night. Estevez will remain in the top job for the Royals. He notched his 31st save Friday night.

Justin Topa earned the only save for the Minnesota Twins this week.

AL West

Houston: Josh Hader hit the IL with a shoulder issue. Bryan Abreu should be the primary guy for saves. To that end, Abreu earned his first save of the season on Wednesday night. Should there be a situation in which a lefty is needed, or if the team uses Abreu earlier in a game, veteran Bennett Sousa could get some chances as well. He has four saves in 2025. Abreu should get the bulk of the chances now, something we have been waiting to see for years.

It might seem like Andres Munoz and Matt Brash are in a timeshare, but they are not really. Both are elite. Brash will get the chances on nights when Munoz needs off. Munoz has been one of the best relievers in baseball this season with three wins, 29 saves, a 1.31 ERA, and a 31.7% K%. Brash has three saves to go along with his 15 holds.

The situation is unclear in Texas between Phil Maton and Robert Garcia, as both have struggled mightily this week. Both blew saves this week and took losses in the process. I will call this a co-closer situation for now, but could manager Bruce Bochy look in another direction? Danny Coulombe and Shawn Armstrong have been excellent in middle relief and setup roles; could we see some experimenting in Texas this month?

NL East

The New York Mets have been in freefall the last two weeks, and the bullpen has been horrendous. Top high-leverage guy Ryan Helsley has blown three games and taken losses in two of them, and closer Edwin Diaz and top setup man Reed Garrett also took losses this week. This group will need to rebound quickly to keep the Mets afloat in the rugged NL East. The pecking order should remain the same, with Diaz closing, being set up by Helsley and Tyler Rogers.

Philadelphia: Jhoan Duran is the closer and earned his 20th save this week. Orion Kerkering earned his third save on a night when Duran was off earlier in the week. David Robertson was recalled this week and appears to be taking a middle relief role for now; he pitched three times over the last five days, and his stuff appears to be what we expect from the veteran. Kerkering has 18 holds this season, while lefty Matt Strahm has 13. This bullpen could be loaded for the playoffs. Jose Alvarado is nearing a return from his suspension, but he will not be eligible for the playoffs because of it.

The Washington Nationals are rebuilding their bullpen on the fly, with lefty Jose A. Ferrer the top option most nights. Cole Henry did nab a save this week, his first, while lefty PJ Poulin joins him in a setup role. In the game Henry saved, Ferrer came into the game in the eighth inning to get the heart of the order, leaving the ninth for Henry. Ferrer is still the closer at this time.

NL Central

Watching the St. Louis situation. This appears to be a committee situation, where JoJo Romero, Riley O’Brien, and Kyle Leahy will mix and match to get the job done. Right now, the lean appears to be Romero, who did notch a save this week. However, he also blew one in a game where O’Brien and Leahy set him up. We will continue to monitor this one for fantasy players.

NL West

The Arizona bullpen is a full-blown committee at this time. As many as four guys could get looks down the stretch: Juan Morillo, Andrew Saalfrank, Andrew Hoffman, and Kyle Backhus. Morillo was in Triple-A a week ago, but earned a save on Tuesday night, while Saalfrank nabbed one on Wednesday. Hoffman took a blown save on Wednesday. Injuries and trades have made this bullpen unrecognizable from what it was in March, yet the Diamondbacks soldier on.

Victor Vodnik has three saves this week. Do you care?  Should you care? If you are in deep leagues, yes, you care, especially if you need saves. With Zach Agnos and Seth Halvorsen both on the IL, the job is his, and he’s been good at it; he has five saves now and seven holds, with a 3.62 ERA and an average 24.5% K%. It might be time to consider a Colorado pitcher…

Los Angeles remains a hot mess. This looks and acts like a committee, with Alex Vesia, Ben Casparius, and Blake Treinen all sharing a piece of the saves pie. With that being said, the only save earned this week was by Jack Dreyer, who needed only three pitches to get the job done on Friday night. Would-be closer Tanner Scott threw a simulated inning on Friday as he recovers from an elbow issue. Kirby Yates threw a live batting practice session this week as well. Let’s face it: the Dodgers are simply biding time and taking notes on players until the playoffs, when they will cobble together a bullpen that will be able to get key outs.