A caveat here: to avoid being repetitive, we will focus on the team that acquired the player and how the team that lost him might replenish their bullpen.
Interestingly, Tanner Scott and Carlos Estevez were the two biggest names to move at the deadline. Other options like Kyle Finnegan and Pete Fairbanks stayed put. The market hit for high-leverage arms, and not in closer roles.
Let’s go through all the moves that were made leading up to the deadline and see how teams are impacted by both additions and subtractions at this time. We will go team by team here, so bear with me.
Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
Baltimore Orioles: acquire Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto. Expect Craig Kimbrel to be the closer, and Dominguez to pair with Yennier Cano for high-leverage spots late in games. Soto should slot into middle relief.
Boston Red Sox: acquire Lucas Sims, Luis Garcia. Kenley Jansen will remain the closer, with Sims and Garcia taking the seventh and eighth-inning roles. Zack Kelly has been great but has faded lately.
New York Yankees: acquire Mark Leiter, Jr., Enyel De Los Santos. I was surprised the Yankees were not all-in on a closer, as replacing Clay Holmes seemed like a place to improve for them. The additions will join Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle to create a formidable bridge to get to Holmes, who remains the best option in the Bronx even on shaky ground.
Tampa Bay Rays: A touch surprised that Pete Fairbanks stayed; the team did move top setup guy Jason Adam to the San Diego Padres. Colin Poche and Garrett Cleavinger should remain the top high-leverage guys here. I had rostered Cleavinger last week in some leagues in anticipation of Fairbanks moving. Egads! I was wrong (not shocking).
Toronto Blue Jays: Chad Green was not traded and should remain the top candidate here for saves, earning his eighth on Friday night. Genesis Cabrera could be the top option for holds here, but I am also watching for a bounceback from Erik Swanson in the second half. In four July outings, we have seen an almost two MPH velocity spike in his four-seamer; he’s too good to have been so bad early on this season, and of course, he was dealing with a serious injury to his child. We tend to forget that the players are human beings and this is their job; family always comes first. Ok, I am done lecturing.
AL Central
Chicago White Sox: with the trade of erstwhile closer Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the assumption is that any scant save chances will likely go to veteran John Brebbia. It’s a mystery to me what the White Sox are hoping to accomplish here; why hold on to Brebbia and not trade him in a season in which you will probably not win 10 more games? Whatever. Don’t mine here for saves unless the Sox start figuring out how to win the last three innings of baseball games. This team is an epic disaster.
Cleveland Guardians: Stood pat, and why not? One of the best bullpens in baseball. I am not sure if they will score enough runs, but they can win the last three innings of games with the bullpen against any team in baseball.
Detroit Tigers: They moved Andrew Chafin to the Texas Rangers. Their high-leverage guys appear to be a committee between Jason Foley and Shelby Miller, who have both struggled recently. Keep an eye on lefty Tyler Holton, who quietly has worked his way into a setup role.
Kansas City Royals: acquire Hunter Harvey, Lucas Erceg. I will be watching this one closely. On the Fantasy Baseball Beat this week, beta writer Jaylon Thompson suggested that the Royals still believe in James McArthur, and he felt he would get the bulk of the save chances here. Adding Harvey and Erceg gives them the bridge to the ninth inning, for sure. These moves also allow the team to move veterans Chris Stratton and Will Smith to middle-inning roles.
Minnesota Twins: acquire Trevor Richards. This is another bullpen that didn’t need much fixing but added the veteran Richards to help cover the middle innings. The top three options remain Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Jorge Alcala. Brock Stewart had returned but then went back to the IL with a shoulder strain; getting him back before a potential playoff series would be huge for the Twins.
AL West
Houston Astros: acquire Caleb Ferguson. No significant additions here for Houston, although Ferguson will help the middle innings due to the ineffectiveness of Rafael Montero. The back end here is solid with Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, and relative newcomer Tayler Scott.
Los Angeles Angels: acquire Mike Baumann. This becomes an interesting bullpen now with the subtraction of Carlos Estevez and Luis Garcia. Many fantasy players went out and made exorbitant FAAB bids on the fireballing Ben Joyce, only to see veteran Hunter Strickland grab the first chance post-deadline, and he blew the save. Why use Strickland there? You’ll have to ask manager Ron Washington because it makes no sense to me. You still have to think that Joyce will get opportunities here.
Oakland Athletics: Tyler Ferguson figures to get the first crack at the closer job in Oakland; the question will be, how many chances can you get on a bad team?
Seattle Mariners: acquire JT Chargois, Yimi Garcia (last week). Manager Scott Servais is comfortable mixing and matching the back end and has Garcia to pair with Andres Munoz. Collin Snider has moved into a setup role in recent weeks.
Texas Rangers: acquire Andrew Chafin, adding a veteran to the back end of their bullpen for a hopeful playoff run. Kirby Yates remains the closer with 19 saves, while Chafin and David Robertson are the top setup options.
NL East
Atlanta Braves: acquired Luke Jackson and immediately inserted him into the middle relief corps. In a bit of a shakeup, Aaron Bummer has moved into a setup spot with Joe Jimenez. A.J. Minter and Pierce Johnson are the most-used middle relief options now, rounding out a very strong bullpen for the Braves, all backing up closer Raisel Iglesias, who has 23 saves.
Miami Marlins: this is a bullpen in transition after trading AJ Puk and Tanner Scott last week. I mistakenly suggested two weeks ago that you stash Puk and I felt fairly certain that Scott would be traded and that Puk would remain, closing games for the Marlins. I was wrong. Now it looks like a committee situation among Calvin Faucher, Anthony Bender, and Andrew Nardi. Faucher got an opportunity on Friday night and promptly blew it; Bender and Nardi had pitched the sixth and the seventh innings, respectively. One to watch here. For what it is worth: Bender has some experience in the role, with nine career saves earned in 2021 and 2022.
New York Mets: acquire Huascar Brazoban in a bullpen that the Mets rebuilt on the fly as they fight to stay in the playoff picture. Reed Garrett is hurt and Adam Ottavino has struggled, thus allowing newly acquired Phil Maton and Brazoban to take on larger roles. Jose Butto has also been excellent in filling the long reliever meets middle reliever role here.
Philadelphia Phillies: acquire Carlos Estevez, Tanner Banks. This bullpen continues to fascinate, doesn’t it? They move mainstays Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez, nabbing Estevez and Banks as replacements. With no save opportunities for either this week, it is tough to say whether Jeff Hoffman or Estevez is the closer here; I’d give Estevez the edge on paper. But we know manager Rob Thomson will use anyone of his weapons at any time, including lefties Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm. Strahm got a save opportunity this week but blew it. Those with shares of Hoffman…maybe hold on to him for a week or two and see how this shakes out.
Washington Nationals: after trading Hunter Harvey to the Kansas City Royals ahead of the trade deadline, I posited last week that Kyle Finnegan could remain in Washington. Looking at their roster, this is a team that could compete for a playoff spot in 2025, so it made sense to keep a closer with 28 saves through the end of July for next season. Derek Law and Robert Garcia are the top candidates for holds.
NL Central
Chicago Cubs: the team did some reshaping, adding Nate Pearson, but held on to mercurial closer Hector Neris. He did earn the save on Friday night. I do wonder if rookie Porter Hodge will get a chance at some point, but as long as they feel that they are fighting for a playoff berth, they will probably use Neris in the top spot. Julian Merryweather is back and he and Tyson Miller should also be top setup options in the short term.
Cincinnati Reds: acquired Jacob Junis and traded Lucas Sims but held on to Alexis Diaz and Fernando Cruz, their top bullpen arms. Lefty Sam Moll is quietly having a good season and should continue to earn holds down the stretch.
Milwaukee Brewers: acquire Nick Mears and move Trevor Megill to 15-day IL with a back issue. Devin Williams is back and ascended to the top job, and Jared Koenig came off the IL and is in a top setup role with Mears. Williams has yet to earn an opportunity since his activation.
Pittsburgh Pirates: acquire Jalen Beeks, Josh Walker. Beeks slots into a middle-relief role, slotting in as a situational lefty in support of closer David Bednar and top setup guys Aroldis Chapman and Colin Holderman. No shakeup expected here, just added depth.
St. Louis Cardinals: acquire Shawn Armstrong, who pushes into a middle relief role. Ryan Helsley continues to close, with 33 saves on the season, and be supported by Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero, and Ryan Fernandez.
NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks: acquire Dylan Floro, and A.J. Puk. This bullpen had turned interesting suddenly with the implosion of Paul Sewald. We can effectively call this a committee, but with four possible members: Puk and Sewald, but also Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson, who has earned their last two saves. Add flame-throwing Justin Martinez to the mix too. What a mess. Manager Torey Lovullo removed Sewald from the closing role on Friday and suggested they could go with a committee approach for a time. This will be interesting to watch as the Diamondbacks fight to stay in the Wild Card picture.
Colorado Rockies: Victor Vodnik continues his surprising run at closer, and with two saves this week, has five on the season.
Los Angeles Dodgers: acquire Michael Kopech and add him to the mix. The Dodgers haven’t had a save opportunity this week, but expect Daniel Hudson or Evan Phillips to get the next one. Phillips is on the hot seat but manager Dave Roberts seems to be trying to work him out of it; he remains their best option at the spot.
San Diego Padres: acquire Jason Adam, Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing. San Diego is always in go-for-broke mode, and they did it again this year, acquiring arguably the best setup man (Adam) and best closer (Scott) available. My expectation: Robert Suarez holds on to the role most of the time, with Scott getting the eighth and Adam getting the seventh. That could change in a hurry, for sure. But Suarez has done nothing to lose the job. Manager Bob Melvin could easily mix and match here as well.
San Francisco Giants: they traded Luke Jackson and moved Jordan Hicks back to the bullpen. These were their only notable moves.