Several articles will be written between now and mid-March about the state of bullpens in Major League Baseball. Many of these will contain closer rankings and many people will debate them vigorously. I prefer to think of rankings as a fluid, living, breathing document that will change quickly after you commit them to paper. I tend to think of closer rankings in tiers rather than specific targets.
Let me try to illustrate that point further. I have Devin Williams ranked as the top closer. I would love to roster him, and I will likely do so in several places. This all depends on the price. He will have an inflated price tag given his trade to the New York Yankees and the thought that he could earn 30+ saves. However, his history of back trouble (backs don’t suddenly get better with age) will likely give some players pause. Emmanuel Clase is the top closer in the game but we may worry about his overuse the last few seasons. These are the factors we must consider when choosing our closer. I am fine with anyone in this first tier as my closer for those reasons. If it’s not Williams, I am good with rostering Josh Hader or Mason Miller as my top closer on most teams.
This article will not discuss strategy; that will be a piece for another weekend. However, from what I have seen thus far, closers are getting pushed up in drafts. Many players seem to think they want to nab at least one “safe closer” in the first four or five rounds. Some players are content with getting two “midrange” closers. Still, others are punting the category and throwing darts at the end of drafts for potential saves targets. I am not yet married to a defining strategy this year, but I guess I had better decide soon as time’s a-wasting.
Early 2025 Closer Rankings and Tiers
Keep in mind that these closer rankings will change, and I am not overly committed to these rankings. This is just the beginning of the discussion. Rick Graham from PitcherList has a saying we use annually in our First Pitch Arizona presentation: “safe” and “closer” should never be in the same sentence. It is a position on your roster that is full of risk, so embrace that moving forward.
Tier 1
1.) Devin Williams, New York Yankees
2.) Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
3.) Josh Hader, Houston Astros
4.) Felix Bautista, Baltimore Orioles
5.) Edwin Diaz, New York Mets
6.) Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals
7.) Mason Miller Athletics
I am not sure about this top tier of closer rankings for me. It is probably too large and comes with some risk at the end of the list with Helsley and Miller. This is liable to change as the winter drags on here. There are rumors of Helsley being on the trade market and it is yet to be seen if Miller can repeat his 2024 season. Bautista returns from injury but should easily regain the top job in Baltimore; the signing of Andrew Kittredge there this weekend is for the seventh and eighth innings. Williams is ranked number one for me after the trade to the New York Yankees and my concern over the overuse of Emmanuel Clase in Cleveland.
Tier 2
8.) Jhoan Duran, Minnesota Twins
9.) Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners
10.) Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta Braves
11.) Trevor Megill, Milwaukee Brewers
12.) Tanner Scott, free agent
13.) Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays
This is the last place I feel comfortable selecting any of these closers as my number one guy. Munoz has the stuff to be one of the best closers in the game, but the relative role uncertainty always gives me pause. Megill would seem to be the prohibitive favorite to win the job vacated by Devin Williams in Milwaukee, but there could be competition with Abner Uribe. Iglesias is often undervalued in many fantasy circles but should have another good year in his arsenal. Scott is a wild card as a free agent; remarkable stuff, but does he land in a place where he closes or is used in a high-leverage situation that does not guarantee save chances? I love Hoffman and hope that he is the clear option in Toronto. Any of these guys could easily jump into the top tier of closers.
Tier 3
14.) Robert Suarez, San Diego Padres
15.) Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants
16.) David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates
17.) A.J. Puk, Arizona Diamondbacks
18.) Michael Kopech, Los Angeles Dodgers
19.) Lucas Erceg, Kansas City Royals
I am very comfortable landing my second closer in this tier, albeit, with some inherent risk. The risk is either a concern about reliability, for example, in Walker, who only did the job part of the season. Bednar fought through injuries but looks to be the best option in Pittsburgh. Puk is not the closer in Arizona…yet. Kopech is the closer in name in Los Angeles for the best team in baseball, yet we know there could be three guys who get save opportunities with that roster construction. Yet every name here is a talented pitcher who could easily earn 20+ saves in the right situation.
Tier 4
These are relief pitchers with great skills who may or may not get save chances. Think of these pitchers as those 10-15 saves that can help you, but not 30+ saves guys.
20.) Ben Joyce, Los Angeles Angels
21.) Yimi Garcia, TorontoBlue Jays
22.) Edwin Uceta, Tampa Bay Rays
23.) Evan Phillips, Los Angeles Dodgers
24.) Luke Weaver, New York Yankees
25.) Jordan Romano, Philadelphia Phillies
26.) Kirby Yates, free agent
27.) Kenley Jansen, free agent
28.) Justin Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks
29.) Griffin Jax, Minnesota Twins
Tier 5
30.) Kyle Finnegan FA
31.) Paul Sewald FA
32.) Robert Stephenson, Los Angeles Angels
33.) Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
34.) Orion Kerkering, Philadelphia Phillies
35.) Seth Halvorsen, Colorado Rockies
36.) Jason Foley, Detroit Tigers
37.) Porter Hodge, Chicago Cubs
38.) Alexis Diaz, Cincinnati Reds
39.) Calvin Faucher, Miami Marlins
40.) Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays
41.) Liam Hendriks, Boston Red Sox
42.) Chad Green, Toronto Blue Jays
43.) Tyler Kinley, Colorado Rockies
Uncertainty resides here; lack of clarity in a role, injury, or guys without much track history. Caveat emptor here, although you might still find a diamond in the rough. These are the guys you watch for news on during the offseason, looking for updates on role definition, health, and what their manager says about them. Of this list, I like Halvorsen and think he will shoot up the ranks this winter. Do Finnegan and Sewald get closer jobs? Or are they signed for high-leverage or middle-relief roles? The future is hard to see here, hence the lower rating in this massive tier. Fairbanks is likely to be traded, but if he is not, he moves up this list as well, even though his injury history gives me great pause.
Other Relievers That We Will Be Watching
These are guys that I am intrigued by but who have unclear roles.
44.) Camilo Doval, San Francisco Giants
45.) Prelander Berroa, Chicago White Sox
46.) Justin Slaten/Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox
47.) Collin Snider, Seattle Mariners
48.) Carlos Estevez, FA
49.) Kevin Ginkel, Arizona Diamondbacks
50.) Jeremiah Estrada, San Diego Padres
Teams with Unsettled Bullpen Situations
American League
Boston Red Sox: Management added veteran lefty Aroldis Chapman to the mix, which includes the TJS-recovering Liam Hendriks and exciting newcomer Justin Slaten. I think this is up in the air although many pundits feel this job will go to Chapman. He seems best served in a high-leverage setup role. In late news, it appears that Garrett Whitlock will be in the bullpen when he’s ready to go (he’s battling back from injury and might miss the first month or two of the season), and he could be in the closer mix at some point, or at least in the high-leverage situation in Boston.
Chicago White Sox: the bigger question for the White Sox is will anyone care who is closing for the worst team in baseball? Roster Resource lists Justin Anderson as the closer right now, but in my mind, it makes sense that the Sox could add a veteran on a one-year deal with closing experience. A guy like Jose Leclerc makes sense, or a Dylan Floro type who has experience getting key outs. The name that intrigues me the most in Chicago is Prelander Berroa. File him for later.
Detroit Tigers: it is unknown what the Tigers will do and if they will add a bona fide closer to their bullpen mix. Roster Resource feels this is a committee situation starring Beau Briske, Jason Foley, and Tyler Holton. Forced to bet right now, the de facto closer would seem to be Foley, but all three of these guys seem better suited for high-leverage roles that are not closing.
Los Angeles Angels: Robert Stephenson will be back at some point, but not to start the year. Ben Joyce looks to be the top choice at this juncture, and why not? The guy averages 102.4 MPH on his fastball despite a pedestrian 23.2K%. Joyce is also an injury risk here.
Texas Rangers: this one is a mess right now, with no clearcut guy in the driver’s seat. My hunch here is that they resign Kirby Yates unless he gets a better contract elsewhere; there might not be another team that needs him as badly as the Rangers do right now. Heck, they might even sign veteran David Robertson back too. And why not? They had added veteran Chris Martin and acquired lefty Robert Garcia from Washington. Both are good additions, but if this team is serious about competing in the AL West, they may need a better closing option. Yates would fit back in that spot. At this time, Martin would profile as the closer.
Toronto Blue Jays: the team appears to have resolved their closer situation by signing Jeff Hoffman to a three-year, $33 million guaranteed contract on January 10. This should allow the Jays to move Yimi Garcia and Chad Green back to setup roles, which fit their profiles better.
National League
Arizona Diamondbacks: this is going to be an interesting one to watch develop over the next couple of months. Most expect it will be Justin Martinez, and it very well could be him. Yet it is important to recall that he was not getting save chances down the stretch last year after he faltered and performed poorly. A.J. Puk, the dominant lefty, was nasty in 2024 and has the stuff and some experience closing on his resume. Rumors continue to swirl that the Diamondbacks are looking to add an experienced closer to the back end of their bullpen, with veteran Kirby Yates being tossed out as an example. If they do not make a move, look for a 60/40 split between Martinez and Puk, unless someone runs away with the job in Spring Training.
Chicago Cubs: the Cubs essentially stumbled on to Porter Hodge last season after the ineffectiveness of Hector Neris led them down a dark path. It’s hard to see the exact plan after trading for Kyle Tucker and then turning around and shipping Cody Bellinger away to New York. Are they building? Retooling? This is a team screaming for a bullpen upgrade or two. Free agent lefty Tanner Scott would make sense here.
Colorado Rockies: the guy I am highest on here is Seth Halvorsen, who I saw pitch in person last year and was impressed with; high velocity, good movement, and command. The competition in Colorado is Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik, both of whom seem better suited to other roles.
Los Angeles Dodgers: many will anoint Michael Kopech the closer here, but not so fast, my friends. Manager Dave Roberts has shown a propensity to use any of his high-leverage arms at any time in a game, and the recently re-signed Blake Treinen could factor in the mix, as well as sometimes closer Evan Phillips. All three will get save opportunities; maybe figure on Kopech to get 60-70% of those chances.
Miami Marlins: at this time it looks like Calvin Faucher‘s job to lose, with Jose Tinoco also in the mix. Tinoco seems to be the better pitcher when you look at the data. Who knows? Miami could sign a veteran off the scrap heap and use them as a closer to rebuild value and then trade that guy at the deadline.
Pittsburgh Pirates: the hunch here is that David Bednar will regain the role. What else are they going to do? Dennis Santana and Colin Holderman are better in setup roles.
San Francisco Giants: I think this is Ryan Walker‘s gig and that Camilo Doval will be in a middle-innings role until he proves he can be trusted again. Walker was electric last year, with 10 wins, 10 saves, a 1.91 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and 99 strikeouts in 80 innings. His K-BB rate was 26.3%. There is little reason to think he cannot repeat that in 2025.
Washington: they surprisingly let Kyle Finnegan walk without having another great option behind him. The Nats need to address this place on their roster. As of this writing, their current closer might be Derek Law or Jose Ferrer, who are both good pitchers but do not profile as closers. For an upstart team like Washington, they could use one of these veteran free agents to close for them. Maybe a Kenley Jansen or Paul Sewald would fit here? The team did sign veteran righthander Jorge Lopez on Saturday, and based on his experience, he could be in the mix.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! FantraxHQ is here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.