New looks abound in major league bullpens.
As we discussed in this space last week, the relief pitcher market proved to be robust. Teams are following a strategy for playoff runs: decide who your top three starters are, hope they can give you four or five quality innings, and then extend your bullpen by adding different looks and high-leverage pieces to get those last 12-15 outs. The market did not support the movement of elite starting pitchers, but did support moving elite high-leverage arms and even a few closers.
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Let’s dive in and take a look at a busy week covering bullpens.
Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report
AL East
Baltimore sold off most of their middle relief corps. Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto, Bryan Baker, and Andrew Kittredge were all moved over the last 10 days. With Felix Bautista on the IL with shoulder woes until early September, who gets the save chances in a lost season for the Orioles? Veteran Corbin Martin got one and converted it this week; could Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin get chances as part of a committee? I am not touching this one in any leagues.
The New York Yankees made significant additions in acquiring David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Jake Bird at the deadline. With Devin Williams and Luke Weaver already in place, we will need to watch how these guys get deployed over the next few weeks. Interestingly, not to Yankees fans like Chris Torres, both Bednar and Doval blew holds on Friday night in a loss to the lowly Miami Marlins. My hunch: Williams remains the closer, Weaver moves back to a multiple-inning role, and Bednar and Doval are the top setup men. Anything could happen here with four guys with closing experience. Long term, these moves are hedges against losing Williams and Weaver in free agency this winter.
Tampa added Griffin Jax to their bullpen with an eye towards next year and 2027, as they could lose closer Pete Fairbanks to free agency before next season. As it stands, adding Jax to Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger gives them a nice bridge to Fairbanks. Jax has the pure stuff to close and is looking like his old self after a bumpy start to the year.
Toronto acquired Seranthony Dominguez and Louis Varland to their relief corps, and jettisoned veteran Chad Green. Both should be top setup options and candidates for holds, right behind Yariel Rodriguez, who is the top high-leverage guy behind closer Jeff Hoffman.
AL Central
Steven Wilson got a two-inning save for the White Sox on Friday night, but Grant Taylor should be the best option most nights. The Sox have six guys with at least two saves this season, and no reliever with more than three. Egads.
Cleveland looks to use Cade Smith while Emmanuel Clase is on the restricted list. If the past is any indication for those on the restricted list, do not look for Clase to return this season. Get Smith on your roster if you can, although in many deeper leagues, he is already on rosters.
Detroit added Kyle Finnegan to its bullpen mix. Many, including me, thought the Tigers might make a splashier move and get a bigger ticket closer. But adding Finnegan to Tyler Holton and Tommy Kahnle to support Will Vest makes sense. Finnegan could reprise a Jason Foley-type role, getting tons of groundball outs. This will be an interesting one to watch, as Vest would seem to be the best option to close games most nights in Motown.
Minnesota emptied the cupboard of relievers. Maybe it is Cole Sands, last man standing, who gets the scant save chances here? Minnesota tore it down to the studs this week.
AL West
Mason Miller moved to San Diego. The Athletics will be a fun one to watch here. Jack Perkins got a save on Wednesday, and I would love to see him get this role, as I have rostered him in several leagues. Justin Sterner, Elvis Alvarado, and Luis Morales could get shots here, too, especially if Perkins goes into the rotation. I do not believe that Sean Newcomb and Michael Kelly are solutions at closer.
Los Angeles did a soft buy mode, adding Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia to their bullpen mix, holding on to Kenley Jansen and Reid Detmers in the process. Scratching my head a bit, as they are 53-57 and not really in the playoff race. I was surprised they held on to Jansen, who seemed to have value at the deadline.
Texas did not add a closer, so it appears they are content with Robert Garcia at this time. They did add nice support pieces in Danny Coulombe and Phil Maton to fill their setup roles. Jon Gray is also in the bullpen now and could find his way into a leverage role soon. Garcia epically blew a save Friday night, giving up two runs on two hits in five pitches.
NL East
Atlanta decided to hold on to veteran Raisel Iglesias. They added Tyler Kinley to their leverage corps rather than move anyone. Iglesias is in the last year of his contract, so maybe the thinking was to add a veteran who could help the bullpen now and into the future; Kinley has a club option for 2026.
Miami stood pat, meaning the committee will continue among Ronny Henriquez, Calvin Faucher, and Anthony Bender. I prefer Henriquez as the best option, but unfortunately, I am not their manager.
Philadelphia added the best relief arm available in Jhoan Duran, which allows them to bump Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering back to setup roles. Duran got his first save for the Phillies on Friday night. This also allows manager Rob Thomson the ability to give more time to Jordan Romano to find himself again and see if he can be a weapon in the playoffs. The Phillies could also add a high-octane arm like Jesus Luzardo to the bullpen in the playoffs, which could give them many options. I love what Philadelphia could do with this bullpen.
The Mets did an amazing (see what I did there) job of augmenting an already excellent bullpen by adding veterans Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers to a group that already had Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek in it, and recently got back lefty Brooks Raley too. Think of the wild variations they can throw at a team: Rogers and Raley are soft tossers with difficult arm angles who can get groundballs and soft contact; Garrett and Stanek throw gas, and Helsley gets the eighth before Edwin Diaz closes it out in the ninth inning. This would be so fun to watch deep in the playoffs.
Washington moved Finnegan, and the question is, who closes now? It could be Jose A. Ferrer in the short term, but Konnor Pilkington is making his way into a leverage role now. Don’t touch this one yet.
NL Central
Chicago made some additions but left Daniel Palencia as the closer. The Cubs added veterans Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge to their bullpen mix. Look for Kittredge to be in a high-leverage role while Rogers works in the middle innings.
Milwaukee snagged Shelby Miller from Arizona, but he will slot into a high-leverage role there as Trevor Megill remains dominant in the closer role.
Pittsburgh: Dennis Santana should close in the short term, but look for Isaac Mattson and Braxton Ashcraft to also get chances down the stretch. Both have been excellent in the bullpen this season; Ashcraft could also get some starts later this summer. We will be watching.
St. Louis moved longtime closer Ryan Helsley, leaving a hole in the ninth inning. Look for this to be a committee among JoJo Romero, Kyle Leahy, and Riley O’Brien. Long term, O’Brien is the best bet in my opinion.
NL West
Los Angeles took an interesting approach. Instead of adding a top-of-the-line closer, they added Brock Stewart to what will be a crowded bullpen. With Kirby Yates joining Tanner Scott on the IL this week, look for Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen to get the bulk of the chances here. They, too, will have riches to use in the playoffs, but I keep wondering if this team would use Shohei Ohtani to close in a tight playoff game deep into October…a guy can dream, right?
San Diego added Mason Miller to an already outstanding bullpen with Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, and Jeremiah Estrada. I do think Robert Suarez will remain the closer. On Friday night, Miller got the hold in front of Suarez. It will be interesting to watch.
San Francisco moved Camilo Doval to the Yankees and looks to give Randy Rodriguez a closing shot. He got the save chance and converted it Friday night. Look for Ryan Walker, last year’s closer, and newly acquired Jose Butto to be the top setup guys.
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