As the Bullpens Turn: First Week of April Update

Welcome to another week of “As the Bullpens Turn.” We are not even 10 games into the slate yet, and we already have controversies brewing in several bullpens. I know that I should never be surprised when these things happen, yet there is a restlessness to major league managers because their job is to win baseball games. Pressures mount to make good decisions.

Every week, we will look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in major league bullpens and try to help you decide which closers and bullpen arms to hold on to, and which to jettison. The back-and-forth tide will continue to roll, and we will try to stay above water. Let’s get to it.

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report

AL East

Boston: Aroldis Chapman earned his second save of the year for the Red Sox on Friday night, and he was set up by Greg Weissert and Justin Slaten. Ace reliever Garrett Whitlock is on the paternity list this weekend.

David Bednar has gotten off to a clean start in New York, converting all three of his chances this week. He did throw 40 pitches in his last outing, which could be something to ponder if he falters in the coming days. Lefty Tim Hill has three holds already.

Griffin Jax continues to struggle in Tampa Bay. Two losses and a blown save have punctuated his week to a whopping 22.50 ERA. Manager Kevin Cash has other options here, including Bryan Baker and youngster Ian Seymour. I am not giving up on Jax. Kevin Kelly had the only Tampa Bay save this week, and he also ended up taking a loss on Friday night. Lefty Garrett Cleavinger hit the IL this week with calf tightness. He should be back in the mix after that stint.

In Toronto, Jeff Hoffman is such an interesting study. He has one save and a nice 1.93 ERA, and an absurd 55% K%. However, he also has a win and a loss, with both of those decisions coming from blown saves. While fantasy baseball players may lose faith in Hoffman, I would argue that the Blue Jays do not have a ready-made option to replace Hoffman, especially with veteran Yimi Garcia on the IL. Perhaps they could turn to Louis Varland? At this time, it looks like it is Hoffman or bust.

AL Central

Jordan Hicks earned the only save for the Chicago White Sox this week. Seranthony Dominguez blew his only chance this week for the South Siders. Jordan Leasure gave up the lead in the eighth inning on Friday, before Dominguez earned the win. The way they have started the season, there may not be many save chances here. Grant Taylor has looked good, with a 35.7% K%. He was the opener in two consecutive games this week, filling the role Mike Vasil did last year before needing Tommy John surgery this spring. Taylor is the most interesting arm in this bullpen.

Carlos Estevez hit the IL this week with a lower leg contusion suffered during an evisceration last week, a six-run ninth inning in Atlanta. Veteran Lucas Erceg should get the bulk of the chances while he is out, and lefty Matt Strahm could also pilfer a few opportunities depending on the situation. It will be interesting to see how the Kansas City Royals and manager Matt Quatraro use Estevez when he returns; there are legitimate concerns about the loss of velocity we have seen so far early in 2026. John Schreiber earned his first save on a night off for Erceg this past week. Erceg earned two saves this week.

People are watching the Minnesota bullpen, and I am too, through clenched fingers. This looks like a committee between Cole Sands, Taylor Rogers, and Justin Topa. Rogers has the most experience, but manager Derek Shelton seems intent on playing matchups. Sands has the only save of the season thus far. While I know fantasy players are always looking for saves, these could be painful ones. You’re not that desperate for saves…yet.

AL West

Still hard to read the tea leaves for the Athletics; it looks like this is a full committee right now. Veteran Mark Leiter Jr. had the only save this week; both Hogan Harris and Scott Barlow seem to be in the mix as well. I still believe in Justin Sterner as the best of the bunch, but he seems to be in a middle relief role right now.

Jordan Romano is the closer right now in Los Angeles. I would not get too comfortable with that in the long term; I could easily see this job changing hands three or four times this season. But he is the closer right now, with Kirby Yates, Ben Joyce, and Robert Stephenson all on the shelf.

Journeyman lefty Tyler Alexander has two saves in Texas, but a look into why will show you he is not the closer. But who is? If we look at it, it looks like it will be a combination of Robert Garcia and Chris Martin for now. One of Alexander’s saves was a night off for both Garcia and Martin, and the other was an extra-innings game.

NL East

The only registered save in Atlanta during the week belongs to Osvaldo Bido, a 42-pitch effort on Thursday night. Raisel Iglesias will continue as the closer with Robert Suarez as the top setup option. Iglesias earned a save on Friday night, set up by Suarea.

Pete Fairbanks had two saves in the first two games for the Miami Marlins, but has only pitched once since then. As stated last week, there could be a sneaky good bullpen in Miami this season, with Calvin Faucher, Tyler Phillips, and healthy Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi.

Devin Williams has pitched three times, earning a save in his only chance thus far. He looks like himself again, which is great to see. He is a top-five closer when he is right.

Washington: This appears to be a committee between Clayton Beeter and Cole Henry. Beetrer notched a save last weekend. In a game on Wednesday, Beeter set up for Henry, who subsequently blew the save and took the loss. This will be one to watch. For what it’s worth, I think Beeter is the better pitcher with better stuff. But that doesn’t matter much; the only opinion that matters is the manager’s opinion, Blake Butera.

NL Central

Daniel Palencia has yet to pitch in a save situation in Chicago. In both of his outings, he has pitched in the ninth inning, but neither was a save opportunity. The saves will come; be patient.

It could be interesting in Cincinnati if manager Terry Francona decides to mix and match options around erstwhile closer Emilio Pagan. Connor Phillips earned a save this week and could find himself in the leverage mix. Pagan nabbed a save on Friday night, his second of the week. He has not looked great thus far, but expect manager Terry Francona to give his veteran closer time to get himself righted.

Looks like Trevor Megill is the closer in Milwaukee, with the powerful Abner Uribe in the stop setup role. That was how we had suggested it could start the season, as Uribe has a wider array of uses than Megill. Looking ahead, both could become highly coveted at the trade deadline. Perhaps even more impressive in this bullpen is the array of formidable lefties led by Aaron Ashby and Jared Koenig, who are striking out batters at high clips to start 2026.

In Pittsburgh, could we be seeing the start of a timeshare between Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto? Santana set Soto up on Friday night. One to watch for sure, especially with Santana’s inflated draft day price. Soto has the only save as the first week of the season ends.

St. Louis: continuing to watch and see. Riley O’Brien and Ryne Stanek both earned saves over the last week, and JoJo Romero has three holds. All three have pitched very well thus far, not making the decisions any easier for manager Ollie Marmol.

NL West

Paul Sewald looks to have ascended to the job in Arizona, earning saves in back-to-back nights this past week. Veteran Jonathan Loaisiga earned a save the next night when Sewald was off. This bullpen could be in flux all season, as the Diamondbacks should get both A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez back at some point.

San Francisco: Ryan Walker appears to be the guy for now, but keep an eye on the two guys currently setting him up, Keaton Winn and Caleb Killian. With Jose Butto going down with a blood clot this week, both have an opportunity to shine for the Giants. What’s more, Walker has shown signs of struggle over time as the closer. This could get interesting soon.