MLB Bullpen Report 8.9.25: Chaos Reigns Supreme!

I received many kind comments during the week about my work covering bullpens. For many fantasy players, the last thing they are thinking about most weeks is closers. I get it. Experts like Greg Jewett, Doug Dennis, and Rick Graham spend much time each week breaking down bullpens to try to give you an edge. It is a labor of love, but it is a bunch of work to keep track of each week. I appreciate all of you who read what I write here each week, and I hope that it helps you in some small way.

While many bullpens have a set pathway most days, we will feature several here today that have some uncertainty and thus some moving parts. Some excellent teams, like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, have a lack of clarity despite being great teams. Other teams, like the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics, are piecing it together on the fly after trade deadline moves left them without clear closers. Let’s dive in and take a longer look.

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report

AL East

Keegan Akin appears to be the short-term closer for the Orioles. With Felix Bautista out until early September, and most of the relief crew traded at the deadline, Akin has moved to the closer role and notched his second save Friday night. Yennier Cano is the top high-leverage guy.

Chaos in New York, as David Bednar has ascended to the top spot, while Devin Williams continues to struggle and has been moved to a middle relief role. Bednar notched a save on Wednesday night, while Williams has blown a save and taken two losses this week. He should bounce back, but it will not be in the closer role, at least for now. We know things constantly change in bullpens.

Pete Fairbanks has 19 saves in Tampa despite a paltry 22.7% K%. He has four wins, a 2.70 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP while limiting barrel rates to 2.5%. He gets results.

AL Central

No clarity in Chicago. This looks like it is still a committee among Grant Taylor, Steven Wilson, and Jordan Leasure. All three pitchers have been used in a variety of situations. While it may work well for the team, it does not work well for fantasy players. Pass on this bullpen unless utterly desperate for saves.

Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis each earned saves this week in Cleveland. Smith should be the primary candidate for saves, with Gaddis the top high-leverage guy. Gaddis got a save this week when Smith had a night off after two straight appearances.  A name to watch: lefty Eric Sabrowski, who has ascended to a setuo role with a whopping 40.4% K%.

Kyle Finnegan and Will Vest seemed to have swapped roles for Detroit. Finnegan, acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, has the last two saves in Detroit. Vest has only pitched once this week. Finnegan has three saves in three opportunities with the Tigers, moving his total to 23 on the season.

Justin Topa looks to be the closer in Minnesota, but should we care? There may not be many opportunities coming in this bullpen with all the moves the Twins made at the trade deadline.

AL West

No clarity for the Athletics. Nominally, the closer would seem to be Sean Newcomb, but we have not seen a save situation there this week. Newcomb has been good for them this year, highlighted by his 48.1% ground ball percentage. Let’s see what happens this week.

Texas: Who is the closer? Is it Robert Garcia or Phil Maton? Maton got the only save this week. It’s a mess for manager Bruce Bochy. Could Danny Coulumbe sneak into this mix, too? I had speculated two weeks ago on Jon Gray, but he has been used as a long reliever thus far and is not part of the high-leverage group. Lean Maton in the short term, but I think Garcia could get another chance here, and sooner than we might think.

NL East

Raisel Iglesias is back, and Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee are the top setup options. Iglesias has only given up one run over his last eight outings. Continue to use the veteran with confidence.

Watching the tea leaves in Miami. Calvin Faucher and Ronny Henriquez seem to be sharing the role, but Lake Bachar also got the only save this week in a game where both Faucher and Henriquez had pitched as well.

Jose A. Ferrer is in the top job in Washington. There were no save opportunities for him this week, but he has the top job after the war of attrition at the trade deadline opened up the closer role. He should be set up in games by Cole Henry and Konnor Pilkington at this time. The Nationals do not have one guy in the bullpen who has a save this year after trading the aforementioned Kyle Finnegan.

NL Central

Pittsburgh: Dennis Santana is the closer right now. We had speculated that Isaac Mattson or Braxton Ashcraft could get chances here, but the Pirates kept Santana after moving veteran David Bednar to the Yankees. Santana converted a save chance on Friday night after blowing one on Wednesday. He should get most of the chances here.

The job in St. Louis seems to be a timeshare between JoJo Romero, Kyle Leahy, and Riley O’Brien. Romero and O’Brien each earned saves this week. You wonder what will happen here; Romero is their best high-leverage arm, and if he sticks in that role, the save chances could fall mostly to O’Brien. Hard to say right now, but O’Brien seems to have the most closer-worthy stuff, for what it is worth.

NL West

Los Angeles is a mess. Manager Dave Roberts is desperately trying to find a combination that works for a team that is missing Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, Michael Kopech, and Evan Phillips. The only save this week was earned by jack-of-all-trades Ben Casparius. It’s a full-blown committee among Casparius, lefty Alex Vesia, and veteran Blake Treinen. Vesia blew a save this week and took a loss, but also notched two holds. He has the stuff to close games, but Treinen does too, and he has more experience. Look for Roberts to mix and match as he figures out the shape of his bullpen. Scott did complete a bullpen session this week without incident, so he could be on his way back soon. Yates is out with a lower back injury for at least another week.

San Diego: It is still Robert Suarez despite the addition of flamethrower Mason Miller. Miller and Suarez both earned saves this week; Miller earned his on a night that Suarez was off. Here’s the thing: Miller has more uses in a bullpen than Suarez, where he can be a multiple-inning weapon, come in and get a key out, or close games. Suarez best serves as a closer. This is one of the best and deepest bullpens in the game, with Suarez and Miller, but also Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, and Jason Adam.

Randy Rodriguez is the main man in San Francisco. He blew a save earlier in the week, but rebounded on Wednesday to earn his third save. Ryan Walker and Jose Butto remain the top high-leverage guys behind him. Rodriguez has a 1.51 ERA, highlighted by a 34.8% K%.