Welcome to a new series here at RotoWire. Every Monday and Friday, I'll take a look back at the previous series and wrap up everything you need to know about the rapidly changing closer market.
These articles will contain five parts:
Who Earned Saves This Week/Weekend? A division-by-division look at who picked up saves in the previous series, as well as "true" blown saves and a few quick notes.
Closers I'm Worried About: A breakdown of a handful of closers whose jobs seem the most tenuous, as well as a look at the setup men who could be about to step up.
Bullpen Deep Dive: A closer look at a bullpen where everything is even more up in the air than usual, focusing on key stats and usage trends.
Injury Round-Up: A quick look at any currently injured closers and their progress toward a return to action.
Closer Grid: A snapshot of the RotoWire Closer Grid, which can also be found here.
Who Earned Saves This Week?
| American League East | Saves | "True" Blown Saves* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | Alex Hoppe (1), Andrew Kittredge (8), Yennier Cano (3) | none | See "Bullpen Deep Dive" below. |
| Boston | none | none | |
| New York | David Bednar (31) | none | |
| Tampa Bay | Bryan Baker (39) | none | |
| Toronto | Louis Varland (31) | none |
*A pitcher can earn a blown save if he enters in what is technically a save situation prior to the ninth inning and blows the lead. For fantasy purposes, we don't really care about
Welcome to a new series here at RotoWire. Every Monday and Friday, I'll take a look back at the previous series and wrap up everything you need to know about the rapidly changing closer market.
These articles will contain five parts:
Who Earned Saves This Week/Weekend? A division-by-division look at who picked up saves in the previous series, as well as "true" blown saves and a few quick notes.
Closers I'm Worried About: A breakdown of a handful of closers whose jobs seem the most tenuous, as well as a look at the setup men who could be about to step up.
Bullpen Deep Dive: A closer look at a bullpen where everything is even more up in the air than usual, focusing on key stats and usage trends.
Injury Round-Up: A quick look at any currently injured closers and their progress toward a return to action.
Closer Grid: A snapshot of the RotoWire Closer Grid, which can also be found here.
Who Earned Saves This Week?
| American League East | Saves | "True" Blown Saves* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | Alex Hoppe (1), Andrew Kittredge (8), Yennier Cano (3) | none | See "Bullpen Deep Dive" below. |
| Boston | none | none | |
| New York | David Bednar (31) | none | |
| Tampa Bay | Bryan Baker (39) | none | |
| Toronto | Louis Varland (31) | none |
*A pitcher can earn a blown save if he enters in what is technically a save situation prior to the ninth inning and blows the lead. For fantasy purposes, we don't really care about blown saves where a reliever was clearly being used as a setup man and coughed up the lead. What matters to us is when a reliever was genuinely being given a chance to save the game but blew it. Therefore, for the purposes of this article, I'm only going to report blown saves of that variety.
| American League Central | Saves | "True" Blown Saves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Bryan Hudson 2 (7) | none | Grant Taylor recorded the final eight outs prior to the ninth inning Friday, with Hudson picking up the save. Taylor entered with two men on, one out and a two-run lead, whereas Hudson entered in an easier situation with the bases empty and a three-run lead. Taylor was then unavailable for the save chance Saturday after throwing 27 pitches the night before, so Hudson again got the opportunity, this time following Sean Newcomb, who pitched the prior three innings. |
| Cleveland | none | none | |
| Detroit | none | none | |
| Kansas City | Steven Cruz (6) | none | Nate Pearson was presumably available for Cruz's save chance Friday, having not pitched since Tuesday, but he did not make an appearance. |
| Minnesota | none | none | See "Closer I'm Worried About" below. |
| American League West | Saves | "True" Blown Saves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | none | none | |
| Houston | Josh Hader 2 (21) | none | |
| Los Angeles | none | Sammy Peralta (1) | Peralta got charged with the blown save Friday, but it was Ben Joyce who got the ball to start the ninth inning with a three-run lead. He loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and a pair of walks before being replaced by Peralta, who let all three inherited runners score as well as one of his own on an Edmundo Sosa grand slam. |
| Seattle | none | none | |
| Texas | Jacob Latz (27) | none |
| National League East | Saves | "True" Blown Saves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | Raisel Iglesias (29), Didier Fuentes (3) | none | Iglesias was seemingly unavailable for Fuente's save Saturday, even though he'd thrown a modest 16 pitches the day before and previously hadn't pitched since Tuesday. Perhaps Atlanta didn't want the veteran pitching on back-to-back days at altitude in Colorado. It may not have been just Iglesias, as no Braves reliever was asked to pitch on back-to-back days during the weekend series. |
| Miami | none | none | |
| New York | none | none | |
| Philadelphia | Jonathan Bowlan (2), Orion Kerkering (2) | none | Jhoan Duran was unavailable Friday due to illness, so Bowlan got the save. Duran was seemingly unavailable for Sunday's save as well, as he'd thrown 24 pitches across two innings to pick up the win Saturday. Bowlan was also unavailable after pitching on back-to-back days. |
| Washington | none | Tom Cosgrove (3) | Cosgrove was the one charged with the save Sunday, but it was Max Kranick who got the ball for the top of the ninth with a two-run lead. He got just one out while loading the bases on a bunt single and a pair of walks before Cosgrove came in and allowed all three inherited runners to score plus three more of his own. Clayton Beeter couldn't get the save, as he'd already pitched the seventh and eighth innings. |
| National League Central | Saves | "True" Blown Saves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | none | none | |
| Cincinnati | Emilio Pagan 2 (19) | none | |
| Milwaukee | Trevor Megill (25) | none | |
| Pittsburgh | Mason Montgomery (7) | none | Mason Montgomery has five of the Pirates' six saves since the trade deadline, and the only one that went to someone else came in extra innings in a game in which he'd already pitched. |
| St. Louis | Ryne Stanek (2) | none | Riley O'Brien and George Soriano were both unavailable for Stanek's save Friday after pitching on back-to-back days. |
| National League West | Saves | "True" Blown Saves | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | none | none | |
| Colorado | none | none | |
| Los Angeles | Tanner Scott (20) | none | |
| San Diego | none | Mason Miller (2), David Morgan (1) | Morgan's blown save came in the 11th inning Sunday after Miller had already blown the save in the ninth inning. Bradgley Rodriguez and Adrian Morejon pitched the seventh and eighth innings and were no longer available for the 11th-inning save chance. |
| San Francisco | none | none |
Closer I'm Worried About
Yoendrys Gomez, Twins: The Twins opened the year by taking the idea of a closer committee to an almost comic extent, with their first 14 saves being spread among 11 different pitchers. That changed with the emergence of Gomez, who began the year with the Rays before being designated for assignment in early May and dealt to Minnesota for cash considerations.
With the Twins, Gomez added 1.2 mph to his fastball and 1.5 mph to his slider and has gone from throwing those pitches a combined 55.4 percent of the time to a combined 76.6 percent. That streamlined, improved repertoire has helped him to a 2.66 ERA and 19 saves for his new team.
Gomez's underlying numbers don't paint him in the same light, however. His 23.7 percent strikeout rate with the Twins is only slightly above-average, while his 12.7 percent walk rate is poor. Toss in a very low 30.6 percent groundball rate and you get a 4.61 xFIP and 4.25 SIERA. The cracks have started to show over the last month, as Gomez has a 5.79 ERA and a 10:9 K:BB over his last 11 appearances, including a pair of walks in his lone outing against the White Sox over the weekend. The Twins haven't yet indicated that a closer change is imminent, but with the team holding onto the edges of the wild-card race (four games back as of writing), some urgency may be required.
Worry-o-meter: 3 out of 5
Setup man to stash: Jeff Hoffman. The Twins prepared in advance for Gomez to come back to earth by acquiring Hoffman from the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. Hoffman began the year as Toronto's closer but quickly lost his job to Louis Varland, but by the time of the trade he'd gotten his ERA down to 3.94 and had a much better 2.39 SIERA. He's been a bit shaky for his new team, with a 4.15 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 11:7 K:BB through his first 10 appearances, but he's been one of the best relievers in baseball over the last four seasons, with his 23.7 percent K-BB% and 2.82 SIERA over that stretch ranking fifth and sixth among all relievers, respectively (min. 20 IP). He's also under contract for next season, and it would make plenty of sense for the Twins to give him the reins down the stretch in an audition for the 2027 job.
Bullpen Deep Dive
San Francisco Giants
| 2026 Stats | Saves | ERA | WHIP | SIERA | K% | BB% | K-BB% | Stuff+ | Location+ | gmLI* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Kittredge | 8 | 3.19 | 1.37 | 3.79 | 18.6% | 5.9% | 12.8% | 98 | 103 | 1.48 |
| Rico Garcia | 6 | 3.26 | 0.97 | 3.42 | 25.8% | 8.7% | 17.0% | 99 | 100 | 1.49 |
| Yennier Cano | 3 | 3.07 | 1.05 | 22.2% | 5.6% | 2.87 | 16.7% | 108 | 109 | 1.16 |
| Cam Sanders | 3 | 5.64 | 1.43 | 4.17 | 27.7% | 15.8% | 11.9% | 103 | 90 | 1.94*** |
| Alex Hoppe | 1 | 4.42 | 1.23 | 3.17 | 25.8% | 8.4% | 17.4% | 112 | 101 | 1.57** |
*gmLI is the average Leverage Index when a pitcher enters the game. 1.0 is average; closers typically sit north of 1.50.
**This number includes only Hoppe's 10 appearances with the Orioles. The rest of his stat line also includes his 24 appearances with the Mariners.
***This number includes only Sanders' 11 appearances with the Orioles. The rest of his stat line also includes his nine appearances for the Pirates.
Just how many Orioles relievers are worth rostering, if any? A confusing situation got only moreso over the weekend after three different pitchers picked up saves against the Athletics.
Alex Hoppe got the first one in Friday's series opener, but that came in the 10th inning after Rico Garcia, Yennier Cano and Andrew Kittredge had all already pitched. Hoppe, a 27-year-old rookie, has made 10 straight scoreless appearances for the Orioles after coming over from the Mariners in the Taylor Ward trade, but he's still seemingly behind the other three on the closer depth chart and is a long shot to add another save this season.
On Saturday, it was Kittredge's turn for the save, with Garcia and Cano splitting the seventh inning and Cam Sanders pitching the eighth. Based on recent usage, that probably makes Kittredge the top Orioles reliever to own at the moment, even if his numbers aren't all that impressive. In particular, the 36-year-old's stuff no longer belongs in the ninth inning, judged either by his strikeout rate or his Stuff+.
Sanders getting the eighth inning Saturday was notable, but he doesn't look worth rostering due to his poor command. He does have three saves this season, but they've come in unusual circumstances, such as his one-out save on August 14th to clean up Cano's mess after Kittredge and Garcia had already pitched or his 10th-inning save the following day.
The third Orioles save of the weekend went to Cano. All three of Cano, Kittredge and Garcia had pitched on back-to-back days, but Cano had thrown just three pitches Friday and 11 more on Saturday. He needed just 10 pitches to retire the side in order Sunday for his third save of the season.
Cano and Garcia have similar numbers this season and similar recent usage, so they're more or less neck-and-neck behind Kittredge as the second-best Orioles reliever to roster at the moment, and either of them are usable anywhere where you're looking to start an extra reliever or two to protect your ratios. I'd probably prefer Cano, thanks in part to the fact that he has a big advantage over Garcia in Stuff+ and Location+.
The wild card here is Ryan Helsley, who's made two separate trips to the injured list with elbow troubles this season, the latter of which has kept him out for over two months. He's been throwing bullpen sessions for about a week and seemingly still has time to reclaim his closer job before the end of the season. The Orioles might not push him into high leverage immediately after his return, however, as they have a number of capable relievers already, and if he doesn't immediately step back into his old role, he might not have time to add more than a save or two by the end of the regular season.
Injury Round-Up
Edwin Diaz, Dodgers: Diaz struggled to a 12.91 ERA and 2.74 WHIP in nine appearances after returning from a three-month absence due to surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, and he was promptly placed right back on the injured list in mid-August due to neck inflammation. He's resumed throwing bullpen sessions already and is expected back around the time he's first eligible this Wednesday, but the Dodgers intend to use him in lower leverage after he returns. Tanner Scott has been more than capable in the closer role and may simply keep the job all year even if Diaz avoids setbacks, but if Diaz can get back to looking like his old self, he could reclaim his job for the final week or two of the regular season.
Ryan Helsley, Orioles: As discussed above, Helsley has been out for more than two months due to elbow inflammation, but he's been throwing bullpen sessions for about a week and still has time to make it back before the end of the season. He might get the chance to take his closer job back before the end of the season, or the Orioles may continue to roll with their Andrew-Kittredge-led committee.
Pete Fairbanks, Marlins: Fairbanks hit the injured list last Tuesday due to nerve irritation, an issue which has affected him throughout his career and something which had already sent him to the injured list on a prior occasion this season. He received an injection after landing on the IL and was expected to resume throwing fairly quickly, though that doesn't appear to have happened yet. The Marlins don't have any saves in his absence, but Michael Petersen and Calvin Faucher look like the leading candidates for the next one.
Carlos Estevez, Royals: Estevez has been out nearly all year, first due to a bruised foot he suffered in his first appearance of the regular season and then due to a rotator cuff strain which emerged in his first rehab outing. He got into game action at the Royals' spring complex over a week ago, but there's been no update on a potential rehab assignment since then. Steven Cruz and Nate Pearson are the most recent Royals to see save chances, but the ineffectiveness of Kansas City's fill-in options could keep the door open for Estevez to take his job back by the end of the year.
Closer Grid
This article will be published every Monday and Friday this season, taking a look back at the previous series' top closer news. For more closer updates, check out the RotoWire Closer Grid, which changes daily.
Here's how the whole thing looks as of Monday evening:
*part of a committee
Questions about any of the closers covered above or any relievers you're considering picking up off the waiver wire? Let me know in the comments below.
