Collette Calls: Next Man Up?

It is safe to say that a few closing roles will change hands here over the next two weeks. History tells us that teams make deals all the way up the last second of the deadline. This season, that deadline is Thursday, July 31 at 6pm ET, allowing us a few days of preparation for what is the last big FAAB event of the season in many leagues. If you're like me, you're trying to make your FAAB dollars stretch this season, and one way to do that is to get ahead of the curve and try to speculate on who might gain the opportunity to close games as teams shuffle relievers around the next two weeks. You can look at the numbers and make strategic bids this coming Sunday rather than waiting to see where all the cards fall on the final day of this month and then entering a scarcity bidding market August 2.

Let's work our way up from the bottom in the standings to look for closing situations which may be about to change, starting with the Colorado Rockies.

Colorado

The club has had 18 saves all season distributed between four relievers: Seth Halvorsen, Zach Agnos, Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik. Halvorsen is a rookie with no salary issues and the Rockies are highly unlikely to make a move. Vodnik would appear to be someone other clubs would be interested in given his numbers away from Coors, but nothing is likely to change here.

Chicago

The White Sox have the fewest saves in baseball, with just a third of their 36 wins requiring a save. Grant Taylor leads the club with three saves while six other pitchers have saved one or two contests. This situation, too, is not going to change at the deadline, as the White Sox have their costs very much under control. 

Pittsburgh

Now, we're talking. David Bednar is an unrestricted free agent after the 2026 season; the time to trade such a reliever is right now. Bednar leads the club with 14 saves, while Dennis Santana has five from covering the role for Bednar while he was retooling things in Indianapolis. Santana is also an unrestricted free agent after 2026, and the Pirates could easily decide to sell both relievers off to another club in the next two weeks. Should that happen, these are the remaining options:

Mattson would appear to be the benefactor of a potential dual departure of Bednar and Santana, but I'm also having a difficult time overlooking Nicolas's 44 strikeouts in 30.1 innings of work in Triple-A. 

Washington

Kyle Finnegan is as good as gone, and now that Texas lost out on the bidding for David Robertson and just recently lost Chris Martin to a calf strain, it would appear his odds of relocating to the Lone Star state increased significantly. Finnegan has once again hoarded the saves in Washington, as he has 19 of the 20 saves for the team this season after saving 38 of the 40 games last season. The remaining options in Washington are as follows:

Normally, Ferrar would appear to be the favorite here, but he is also one of two lefties in the pen and the club could decide to leverage Henry in some save opportunities depending on matchups. He is a top-10 prospect within the organization who has made his way back from some serious health issues, including thoracic outlet syndrome. 

Athletics

We may hear a story or two about how the Athletics entertained offers for Mason Miller but at the end of the day did not find a good match. Given how we have all lived in fear of his arm blowing up going on two seasons now, one has to wonder if the Athletics sell high on the young man's potential since they've already alienated a majority of the fanbase with everything else that has happened in recent seasons. Miller has 19 of the 23 saves in the organization and would continue closing should he move anywhere else. I believe it is an exercise in futility to even consider someone other than Miller saving games here the rest of this season, but if they did, I cannot imagine this situation becoming anything other than a committee. I would take Justin Sterner with my last dollar if needed unless Jose Leclerc returns from his strained lat injury. 

Atlanta

Raisel Iglesias picked the wrong year to resume his gopheritis problem as he is in the final year of his existing contract and a lock to be dealt. He has a 4-6 record with 11 saves for Atlanta but would appear to be in risk of losing his shot at saves with a new club given how much he's struggled to prevent homers this season. The other options include:

Johnson has a $7 million team option for next season, so he is both keepable if the club decides to stay in-house with a veteran presence for saves in 2026 or movable if the club pays up for him. Lee certainly has the numbers to earn a shot, and the club could bring back Dylan Dodd from Gwinnett to share some of the lefty matchup duties with Bummer. 

Baltimore

This is a non-starter situation because Felix Bautista is only heading into his second year of arbitration this winter. The bigger concern for Bautista managers is the bridge to get to him is likely to be dismantled as both Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto are on expiring contracts and will be dealt somewhere. That will turn the suspension bridge between the leaky rotation and Bautista into a swinging rope that may see one save chance a week, at best, the rest of the way.

Miami

Ronny Henriquez has taken over the primary closer role with the Marlins, although both Anthony Bender and Calvin Faucher have had recent chances. This situation is unlikely to change much other than potentially seeing Bender dealt away.

Minnesota

Jhoan Duran is still just over two years away from being an unrestricted free agent, but that may not stop teams from asking Minnesota what they would want for his services since the club also has Griffin Jax and an improving Louis Varland around. I would put the odds of Duran being dealt around 10 percent, but should he get moved, Jax would be the easy favorite to pick up saves for this club the rest of the season. 

Kansas City

Carlos Estevez has one more season on his deal, and this club has Lucas Erceg around who is just now entering his first year of arbitration this winter. Any deal involving Estevez would likely involve the Royals eating some cash to move him as his stuff has taken a step back this season. The relocation would also very likely result in Estevez's save chances diminishing the rest of the season.

Los Angeles

One would assume Kenley Jansen is as good as gone as he's on a one-year deal and due around $4 million the rest of the season. That amount would fit cleanly under the Rangers self-imposed salary cap to avoid the luxury tax. The Angels are currently four games out of the wild-card spot and Jansen has stated he does not want to be traded, but the club is treading water and their indicators do not point to a team that is going to close that kind of gap without one of the Yankees, Red Sox or Mariners utterly collapsing, while the Angels would still need to leapfrog Tampa Bay, Texas and Cleveland. 

Should a deal happen, these are the likely remaining options:

Detmers, on strike-throwing alone, would appear to be the best bet moving forward here as the former first-round pick has found a nice home in the bullpen this season and is unlikely to return to the rotation in the future. Robert Stephenson stil has one more year on his three-year deal and is the favorite to be the closer for this club next season assuming he can make his way back from his most recent arm ailment. He is currently throwing from 90 feet, so there's a chance he makes it back this season and gets a few September saves chances. 

Cleveland

This one seems straightforward; Cleveland would have to be blown away to deal Emmanuel Clase. Clase got off to a rough start but has rebounded to a better course this season and is still under a very affordable contract next season until the club options kick in before the 2027 season. Cade Smith is the obvious next man up if Cleveland decides to play for the future, as Paul Sewald is on a mutual option that is extremely unlikely to be picked up given his current shoulder injury and his age. 

Texas and Arizona

I have paired these two because neither has a closer due to injuries or budget, so there is nothing to trade away if either team falls out of wild-card contention over the next week. Texas is currently 2.5 games back, while Arizona has the tougher climb at 5.5 games back. Arizona has lost three closers in Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk and Shelby Miller to injuries this season and are currently trying Kevin Ginkel in the role. Should Arizona call it a season, nothing changes. If they get on a short-term heater here and close the gap, everyone slides down a rung should the club bring in someone like Jansen or Estevez.

Texas does not have any pitcher with at least 10 saves this season, as their 26 team saves have been dispersed amongst eight different pitchers. This situation is begging for a closer and has been all season. The club had an expressed desire to stay below the luxury tax this season, meaning any solution for the bullpen had to come in below $5 million. Should Texas cool off, nothing changes here, but they should now be able to go get one of the available relievers to resolve their ninth-inning situation.

St. Louis

The Cardinals are only 3.5 games out of the wildcard, but Ryan Helsley is an unrestricted free agent after this season. A Helsley deal seems almost pre-destined given the circumstances, so here is what would remain after his departure:

Maton is not going to light up radar guns, but his riding fastball has an Emilio Pagan-like feel to it and would seemingly make him the best fit to be the reliever to get a majority of the saves in St. Louis should a Helsley trade happen.

Cincinnati and San Francisco

Both clubs are tied with the Cardinals in the wild-card standings, but they have different contract situations. The Giants are unlikely to deal away anyone but Tyler Rogers, as he's in the last year of his deal and the club still has the likes of Camilo Doval, Randy Rodriguez and Ryan Walker around. The Reds have gotten more from Pagan than most anyone expected, and he's an unrestricted free agent after this season, as is Tyler's brother Taylor Rogers. Graham Ashcraft would seemingly be next man up for the Reds bullpen based off the usage pattern, but don't sleep on Scott Barlow, who has been extremely tough to hit this season.

Tampa Bay

Pete Fairbanks is a free agent after this season, and the club has pitched its way from the drivers seat to the third row seating of the playoff bandwagon after a wretched July. They are still just 1.5 games out of the wild card, but this organization has historically played for both the present and the future at the same time at the deadline, and it would be surprising if they didn't take advantage of the market and move Fairbanks for future value. He has 16 saves this season, but just six have come since June 1. 

If there was ever going to be a closer-by-committee situation, it would be here should Fairbanks depart, as no other reliever on the team has shown the ability to continually be trusted in high leverage this season. Garrett Cleavinger has the nastiest stuff, but the only other lefty currently available in thepen is rookie Ian Seymour. They could also bring back fellow rookie Mason Montgomery from Durham to solve the lefty problem in the pen, but the situation screams committee given the club's previous tendencies when Fairbanks has been out due to injury.

All in all, and pardon the pun, but I do not expect too much relief for fantasy managers hoping for closers to pop up in the next two weeks. I can support making speculative bids on Maton, Erceg, Detmers, Lee and Henry this weekend but would also take the under on any one of them reaching as many as eight saves the rest of the season.