Another week, and another week of blown saves and bullpen meltdowns. You may be wondering what to do with your current closer situation. But your best bet may be to just hold on to what you have, given the amusement park carousel we have been on all season.
It’s odd because even while we wait for injured closers to return, like Josh Hader and Ryan Helskey, the jobs change hands so much that you will invariably not need as many saves to compete in the category in 2026.
Fantasy Baseball Closer Report
AL East
Toronto has three different relievers with saves this week: would-be closer Louis Varland, former closer Jeff Hoffman, and usual middle reliever Braydon Fisher. Varland appears to be the top choice now, but Hoffman is working his way back to relevancy in the conversation. That is, until Saturday night, when Hoffman gave up five earned runs and only got one out in a loss. Egads!
New York: After a couple of tumultuous outings, David Bednar earned his 12th save of the season with a clean 14-pitch inning this week. With possible closer Camilo Doval also struggling, look for Bednar to continue in the role for now.
AL Central
Cade Smith continues to be the second-best closer in all of the sport. His three saves this week give him 20 on the season to go with a 2.60 ERA and 37.8% K%.
Kenley Jansen is set to miss time in Detroit with a recurrence of his hamstring issue. His replacement may not be very clear-cut. Drew Anderson and Kyle Finnegan should be part of a closer committee in the short-term; in their first test Friday night, Finnegan blew the save, and Anderson ended up taking a loss when Miguel Vargas hit a game-winning walkoff two-run homer in the tenth inning. Finnegan has more experience, but Anderson seems to be the better pitcher right now. We will watch and see what happens. Could Will Vest figure back into the mix if he can right the ship?
Minnesota continues to be an unclear committee situation. As many as five guys could lay claim to the role each night. However, there seems to be more focus on experienced lefty Taylor Rogers and former prospect Yoendrys Gomez. It could be a mix-and-match situation, but with some further clarity, we might see someone emerge here. Gomez has three saves, and Rogers has two.
AL West
Houston continues to use a committee approach as they await the return of Josh Hader. Bryan King seems the best bet most nights, but Bryan Abreu, Enyel De Los Santos, and Nate Pearson have all had chances in the last 10 days. Both De Los Santos and Pearson have earned saves over the last week. Hader threw 22 pitches on Thursday in a rehab outing and could be back this week. There is no question that he will return to the top job as soon as he is ready.
Seattle: Andres Munoz continues to struggle, blowing a save on Friday night to run his ERA back up to 4.98. His grip on the job seems tenuous; if they decided to give him a breather from the job, Matt Brash and Jose A. Ferrer both have experience closing, with Ferrer having a little bit more experience. I will be watching what manager Dan Wilson does with the bullpen over the next few days.
Jacob Latz continues to do a solid job in Texas, earning a save this week, putting him at six saves with a tidy 2.16 ERA and 25.3% K%. He is the clear closer for the Rangers right now.
NL East
Devin Williams earned a 34-pitch save on Wednesday, his eighth on the year. Other than one bad outing this week, he has been terrific in May: two wins, six saves, and 13 strikeouts in nine innings. Williams needs to cut down on the walks, though; he has given up five of those in his last two outings. He is on the waiver wire in many shallow leagues, and you should snap him up if that is the case in your league.
Philadelphia: Jhoan Duran has been his usual dominant self quietly for the Phillies, earning two saves this week to push his season total to 11 with a 1.61 ERA and a 40% K%.
Washington should be a committee situation for the time being, where Gus Varland and the wonderfully named Richard Lovelady lead the team with four saves each. Interestingly, Lovelady has earned all four of his saves this month. With the returns of Clayton Beeter and Cole Henry this week, this bullpen could be interesting in the coming weeks. Beeter locked down his third save on Saturday night.
NL Central
The Chicago Cubs have not had a save chance this week; this happens when you lose 10 straight games. It is safe to assume that Daniel Palencia should get the next opportunity when it comes up; those who spent a premium pick on him must be disappointed with only three saves on the year, but he should start gathering more saves soon.
Trevor Megill or Abner Uribe in Milwaukee? Well, as we suggested last week, this bullpen is among the best in baseball, and they are even more deadly when they can deploy Uribe in multiple roles. Megill is best served as a closer when he is going well. He has the last two saves for the Brew Crew and now has seven on the season. Megill has only given up two runs in May and has a 2.00 ERA and 12 strikeouts in nine innings. Lefty Aaron Ashby leads all of MLB with nine wins out of the bullpen.
Cincinnati: The Reds suffered a huge blow, losing Graham Ashcraft suddenly to an ulnar collateral ligament injury this week. He was placed on the 60-day IL. Emilio Pagan is still on the IL with a hamstring strain, so the committee remains with three members: Tony Santillan, Pierce Johnson, and Brock Burke. If I had to bet, I would guess that Santillan gets the most chances, but who really knows? He has not exactly been lights out in the ninth inning.
NL West
Los Angeles: Tanner Scott is the closer in name with Edwin Diaz out, but we must remember that Dave Roberts is his manager. Roberts is known for using any guy at any time in key spots. So while Scott should get the bulk of the chances, guys like Kyle Hurt and Blake Treinen will also get opportunities. Scott leads the team with five saves.
Caleb Kilian blew a save and took a loss on Friday night, coughing up five runs on five hits, Egads! The thing is, San Francisco does not seem to have many options right now. Would-be closer Ryan Walker is at Triple-A, and Keaton Winn and Sam Hentges are best used at setup options. My guess is Kilian retains the role.
