Fantasy Baseball Bullpen: AL Central Woes; Hader Returns, Puk Back Soon

Well, another week has gone by, and the chaos we have come to expect continues to reign supreme in MLB. Drama twists and turns, and each week, we need to adapt to the situations in front of us and try to wrangle some saves out of it.

We can do difficult things. Let’s dive in and see if we can make some sense out of this mess. Recalling that you need fewer saves in most leagues these days lends to some calm taking backing over for us.

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MLB Bullpen Report

AL East

Baltimore awaits the return of Ryan Helsley. The veteran closer is throwing bullpen sessions to ramp up before he starts facing hitters again. It looks like he may return by the end of June, but who really knows for sure. In the interim, Rico Garcia continues to be leaned on as the closer; he has four saves, a sparkling 0.68 ERA, and a 32.3% K%.

David Bednar earned his 13th save on Thursday night for the New York Yankees. Fernando Cruz has 11 holds, and lefty Brent Headrick has seven holds as they have stabilized the back end of the Yankees’ bullpen.

Louis Varland is good at closing games for Toronto: nine saves, a 0.28 ERA, and a nasty 34.7% K%. And he is still on the waiver wire in some leagues; if that is true in yours, snatch him up.

AL Central

An interesting thing happened in the game with the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night: Grant Taylor struck out the side in the ninth inning for his second save. There was no word on whether or not closer Seranthony Dominguez was available, but he should have been unless he was injured; he has only pitched twice this week. Manager Will Venable does not have a straightforward use of his bullpen, and Dominguez will likely remain as the closer. The White Sox have stated that they want to get Taylor 100 innings this year in a combination of different roles: setup, multiple-inning leverage roles, and even as an opener. One to watch for sure.

The bullpen in Detroit is a bit of a mess. With Kenley Jansen out, there is no clear-cut option here. Will Vest got the save with a 40-pitch effort on Monday. Long reliever Emmanuel De Jesus also got a save on Tuesday. I still think it’s Kyle Finnegan most days while Jansen recovers from his bout with pelvic inflammation. Keep in mind that manager A.J. Hinch has always shown a willingness to use most of his bullpen at any point during a game; the Monday game that Vest saved, he used Finnegan in the sixth inning.

Kansas City: We have an Alex Lange sighting! The former Detroit Tigers closer has battled two years of inconsistency and injuries to come back and be part of an ostensible (and at times, ostentatious) closer committee. Lange has the last three saves in a bullpen that has struggled mightily at the end of games. Lucas Erceg has 11 saves, but that comes with a woeful 6.45 ERA and paltry 19.2% K%. Would-be closer Carlos Estevez is engaged in a throwing program, but there is no clear timeline yet for his return. Why not Lange? Recall he had 26 saves for Detroit in 2023, so he has experience in the role. Good for Lange!

In Minnesota, Yoendrys Gomez seems to be quietly taking over the top job. Lefties Anthony Banda (seven holds)and Taylor Rogers (five holds) figure to be the top setup options, along with Eric Orze (six holds). Gomez has four saves and has lowered his ERA to 3.82 with a stellar May: 12 games, a 0.87 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, two saves, and 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. He is still on the waiver wire in most leagues, but seems a good bet for saves right now. And then he pitched in the eighth inning on Saturday. Egads.

AL West

Athletics: There is no rhyme or reason to the outside world, but manager Mark Kotsay has been deftly managing his bullpen all season. This week, three relievers have saves. I keep hoping for Justin Sterner to get the job. Meanwhile, Jack Perkins is moving to their decimated rotation. Look for Scott Barlow, Hogan Harris, and Sterner to continue to get chances at the end of games. Unless you are completely desperate for saves and/or have a crystal ball to predict the future, steer clear of this one.

Josh Hader is back in Houston, and manager Joe Espada immediately thrust him into a save situation. He nailed it down, earning his first save in 2026. There is no question who the closer will be here, but it will be interesting to watch Hader’s usage pattern. Will he pitch back-to-back nights?  Could Bryan King or Enyel Do Los Santos still get chances if the team decides to hold Hader back some in the short term?

Andres Munoz has only pitched once this week for Seattle, and it was not a save situation. Despite a whopping 35.4% K% and nine saves, he has a high 4.76 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. He’s been bitten by the home run (four surrendered so far this year) and the highest hard hit rate of his career at 46.4%, and a barrel rate of 12.5%. His fastball is being hit for an astounding .368 batting average. Should those numbers normalize, Munoz can get back to elite closer status.

NL East

Atlanta continues to dominate, and they have an excellent back end of their bullpen. Raisel Iglesias continues his dominance: 11 saves, a 0.96 ERA, and a 31% K%. Continue to use him with the utmost confidence. Three more saves this week for the veteran.

Miami: Pete Fairbanks is standing on shaky ground. He did lock down his seventh save on Wednesday last week, but then was used in a 39-pitch hold on Saturday. While his strikeout rate remains solid at 29.5%, his ERA is a whopping 7.41, and his walk rate has climbed to 12.8%.  There has not been talk of replacing him, and with injuries decimating their current rotation, possible closer Tyler Phillips is actually in the rotation now. So Fairbanks should get an opportunity to figure it out on the fly.

NL Central

Rostering Daniel Palencia right now is an exercise in frustration. Many players expected him to be a top-10 closer this year, but he has three saves through the first week of June, none since May 14. It would help if the Cubs would stabilize and play better baseball, as he would garner more of the chances then. The entire team has only 10 saves this year.

The Cincinnati bullpen is a mess. Manager Terry Francona would love for Tony Santillan to take the job, but he keeps giving it back with poor performances. Lefties Brock Burke and Sam Moll have both been good, and Moll seems like he could take on a bigger role here. One to watch.

Things are a bit faulty in St. Louis. Riley O’Brien was terrific to start the year, but endured a tough May: despite six saves, he posted a 6.30 ERA and a slightly high 1.30 WHIP for a reliever. June has not been much better, but he does have the last two save chances. George Soriano has worked his way into a leverage spot, and lefty JoJo Romero has some experience closing if the Cards want to try something different to get O’Brien right again.

NL West

Arizona: the return of A.J. Puk is upon us. He is at Triple-A Reno on his rehab assignment, and his return to Arizona feels imminent. How will that impact a bullpen that has been heroically carried by veteran Paul Sewald and his 15 saves? Kevin Ginkel, Juan Morillo, and newcomer Brandyn Garcia have all made sizable contributions. With the return of Puk and the Diamondbacks hanging around the race in the NL West, this could be a dynamic bullpen once the roles get sorted out.

San Francisco has seen some shifting between Caleb Kilian and Keaton Winn. They have split the last two chances even as it looked like Kilian had pulled ahead in the contest. I still think Kilian is the best bet for saves most nights.