Are you ready for this week’s roundup of bullpen mishaps and mashups, as well as a look at those closers who continue to dominate? Many bullpens see turnover at this time of year, as the also-ran teams experiment with different looks, making it challenging for fantasy players to find saves.
We are nearing the endgame now, and for many of you, nabbing four or five more saves in the coming weeks could win you the championship in your league. Let’s take a look at some sneaky plays here as well as the stable guys who might be available in your leagues.
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Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
Baltimore continues to be a messy bullpen to follow right now. While this is still a committee where three different guys earned saves this week, Andrew Kittredge appears to be the preferred option this week, with saves in two of the last four games. Rico Garcia blew the save on Friday night, a game that Kittredge ended up winning. Lean Kittredge here if you are looking for last-minute save help. Felix Bautista is rehabbing now with no established timeline for his return, but we will monitor that as well.
Top setup guy Garrett Whitlock is back for Boston and reclaimed his role immediately, earning a hold in his first game back on Saturday. He and Erik Miller should be the top setup options for Aroldis Chapman the rest of the way.
New York: We have not talked enough about the job David Bednar has done for the Yankees. He is up to 31 saves this season, with a 2.31 ERA and a 27.8% K%. A hole in the setup ranks was created with Fernando Cruz’s UCL injury this week; look for veteran starter Paul Blackburn to fill that gap. Blackburn will pair with lefty Brent Headrick to get games to Bednar. Blackburn has pitched to a paltry 1.64 ERA with nine holds since moving to the bullpen this season.
Bryan Baker leads all of major league baseball with 39 saves and an outstanding 1.53 ERA and 28.4% K%. What an outstanding year for the veteran in his first full season closing games. Baker is a huge reason for the team’s success in 2026.
AL Central
The Chicago White Sox continue to use a frustrating committee approach despite Grant Taylor being their best arm in the bullpen. Manager Will Venable will use any of his guys at any time in the game; on Friday, Taylor entered the game in the sixth inning and pitched almost three innings against Minnesota to earn a win. Lefty Bryan Hudson earned the last two saves. Taylor leads the bullpen with seven wins and eight saves, a 2.03 ERA, and a 32.6% K%. Hudson has seven saves, while Sean Newcomb has four saves. This is a tough one to predict, but Taylor is worth rostering in deeper formats for sure, even without a high save total.
The one save chance this week went to Steven Cruz, and he earned his sixth save of the season. Committee member Nate Pearson has pitched well recently, but only got into two games this week and earned his fourth hold of the season. Look for manager Matt Quatraro to continue to alternate chances here.
Minnesota has to win games to get saves, and the only save earned this week was a one-pitch job for Andrew Morris. Veteran Yoendrys Gomez leads the team with 20 saves while posting a 3.72 ERA and meager 21.2% K%.
AL West
The Athletics are in a co-closer situation, where it appears that righty Elvis Alvarado has the upper hand over lefty Hogan Harris. Alvarado has converted the last two chances he got earlier this week; there have not been any chances since Wednesday for a struggling Athletics team.
We haven’t brought him up here in weeks, but Josh Hader is having another magnificent season after a delayed start due to injury. He earned his 20th save on Friday night to go along with an incredible 0.76 ERA and a 36.9% K%. I will take the loss on my prediction here; I thought we would start to see signs of slippage, and we have seen none.
I am not sure what to make of the Los Angeles Angels situation. It feels like they want Ben Joyce to take the role and run with it, but he’s been inconsistent. He blew the game on Friday night and took the loss, but both runs were unearned. If I were the Angels’ brass, I would give him the job over the final month and see what I had in Joyce. They don’t have many other options, although Samy Natera Jr. should return from his back injury this week, and he looks like he could be a special arm.
NL East
Raisel Iglesias has posted a 2.88 ERA and 29 saves for the Atlanta Braves this season, but Didier Fuentes got the chance and converted it on Saturday. It appears to have just been a night off for Iglesias. But Fuentes and Dylan Lee have been outstanding in setup roles all season; Lee has 30 holds and Fuentes has 14 holds. A dynamic duo.
NL Central
Watching the Chicago Cubs closely. Their winning covers up some issues with the back end of their bullpen, where current closer Jacob Webb has struggled the last couple of weeks. He only pitched once this week, and blew a save and took a loss. Daniel Palencia is back after being activated last weekend, but it appears he may be returning to a stopper role and/or setup role while Webb continues to close. Trent Thornton also blew a save this week. What has been a sturdy part of their roster is now becoming a question mark for a very good Chicago Cubs team.
Cincinnati: Emilio Pagan has been very good since his return from an IL stint, earning a win and seven saves in nine August appearances. He has 18 saves now and has pared his ERA down to 3.90 with a 25.4% K%.
NL West
It’s a full-blown committee in Arizona, with Justin Martinez, Juan Morillo, and Brandyn Garcia all in the mix. My gut tells me that they would love for Martinez to be that guy, but he is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery and needs a day off after pitching. He did earn a win this past week. Morillo earned the only save this week. For what it’s worth, Garcia leads the team with four saves.
There have not been many opportunities of late in Colorado, but Jordan Romano is the closer there. He earned his 13th save on Tuesday and has only pitched once since then.
Tanner Scott has two blown saves earlier in the week, but bounced back on Friday to lock down save number 20 on the season. Interestingly, manager Dave Roberts told the beat reporters last week that Edwin Diaz would return to a lower-leverage role when he is ready to return from the IL. Interesting. Scott should keep the role even when Diaz returns.
Will anyone be a serious closer in San Francisco? Dylan Smith has the job for now, but blew another lead and took the loss on Wednesday. The better question is, what are their choices? Jason Foley has quietly moved back into a setup role and is only two years removed from a 28-save season in Detroit. Could the veteran get a look in the role? It seems possible.
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