Closer Carousel: Who Earned Saves This Weekend?

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 Weekend?

*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. 

Closers I'm Worried About

Enyel De Los Santos, Astros: You could argue that De Los Santos doesn't belong in this section, as he may never have truly been the Astros' closer, but there's a pretty good case that he was. Bryan Abreu had long since pitched his way out of the ninth inning after giving up runs in each of his first seven appearances, and nobody else on the team stepped up to claim the job in Josh Hader's absence. 

From April 2 to May 1, nobody on the Astros other than De Los Santos recorded a save. He recorded three saves in that time, but he hardly posted closer-like numbers. In 14 innings this season, he owns a 5.14 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, and while his 6.6 percent walk rate is good, his 19.7 percent strikeout rate is nowhere near good enough for high-leverage work.

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise, then, that when a save chance arrived Saturday against the Red Sox, it was Bryan King, not De Los Santos, who got the opportunity. De Los Santos pitched in the sixth and seventh innings of that game, recording five outs and giving up a run. Bennett Sousa tried and failed to complete the inning before Kai-Wei Teng got the final out as well as all there in the eighth. King then retired the side in order for the save.

Worry-o-meter: 5 out of 5

Setup man to stash: Bryan King, though it's probably correct to call him the committee leader already and not a setup man. The Astros' bullpen as a whole has been a complete mess — the team's 6.20 bullpen ERA is last in the league by more than half a run — but King has been a rare bright spot. The southpaw owns a 3.29 ERA on the season, a mark that's more or less deserved according to his 3.49 SIERA. His walk rate (8.3 percent) and groundball rate (51.3 percent) are both better than average, though his 21.7 percent strikeout rate is quite low for a closer. The fact that he's a lefty could also hurt his chances of securing a true closer's role, but the Astros do have two other southpaws (Sousa and Steven Okert) in the pen, so they don't need to save King for a matchup role. With Josh Hader still out for at least three weeks, King makes for a good temporary add. 

Ryan Walker, Giants: Walker hasn't been the Giants' true closer for a while, if he ever was, but even though he's frequently been used earlier in games this season, he remained at least the leader of the team's closer committee, with his three saves leading the team. While that role kept him rosterable in many leagues, it's fair to wonder how long he'll have even that reduced status.

Walker's recent performance has been particularly poor. He has a 1:2 K:BB across his last four outings and has given up at least one run in each of his last three appearances. He received a save chance Thursday against the Phillies but blew it, allowing two runs on three hits while recording just two outs. He blew another save Sunday against the Rays, though it wasn't a true save chance, as he entered the eighth inning with a one-run lead but gave up a run to tie the game.

On the season, Walker now has a 4.61 ERA and 1.54 WHIP, numbers that belong nowhere near the ninth inning. He's underachieving a bit according to his xFIP and SIERA (both 4.03) but still looks like a middle reliever at best. He's combined a below-average strikeout rate (21.3 percent) with a poor walk rate (11.5 percent), and while he's a groundball pitcher, he'd need an elite groundball rate to make up for that; his 51.3 percent groundball rate is instead merely average. Considering that Walker's 4.11 ERA last season was also nowhere near good enough for a closer, don't be surprised if he gets well below half the Giants' save chances from here on out.

Worry-o-meter: 4 out of 5

Setup man to stash: Caleb Kilian or Keaton Winn. Erik Miller is second on the team with two saves, but he just hit the IL with a lower-back strain. Kilian's 0.60 ERA beats Winn's 2.63, though their strikeout rates (26.7 percent and 25.5 percent) are nearly identical, and Winn has the edge in walk rate (9.8 percent vs. 13.3 percent) and WHIP (0.88 vs. 1.00). Winn also has the slight edge in both Stuff+ (106 to 103) and Location+ (also 106 to 103). Both make for fine speculative adds, and it's quite likely that both see save chances in the near future if the Giants keep their committee approach while demoting Walker to a lower-leverage role.

Kenley Jansen, Tigers: Jansen appeared in this section as a 4 out of 5 on the worry-o-meter in Friday's article because he was passed over for a save chance Thursday without explanation when he should theoretically have been available. He remains in this section today, but the worry-o-meter has decreased slightly, as we now have a plausible explanation for why Thursday's save went to Kyle Finnegan, as manager A.J. Hinch revealed Saturday that Jansen was day-to-day with groin and abdomen soreness.

Jansen was reportedly available to pitch Sunday should a save situation arise, so he's a good bet to get the Tigers' next save chance. He still deserves a spot in this section, however, because his performance this year simply hasn't been good. His 6.14 ERA and 1.64 WHIP are both very poor, and while his ERA estimators indicate he deserves better, his 4.65 xFIP and 4.01 SIERA aren't closer's marks, either. His 26.5 percent strikeout rate is good but not great, and certainly not good enough to offset an 11.8 percent walk rate.

The other important thing to consider here is that the Tigers never seemed fully committed to using Jansen as a traditional closer, indicating soon after they signed him in December that multiple relievers could see save chances. Jansen entered the year needing just three saves to pass Lee Smith for third on the all-time saves leaderboard, and while he was likely given some assurances that he'd be able to get those three saves, there's no indication he was assured that he'd get the 24 saves he'd need to reach 500 for his career. With Smith in the rearview mirror, the Tigers are now free to deploy their best reliever in the ninth inning, and that reliever might not be Jansen.

Worry-o-meter: 3 out of 5

Setup man to stash: Kyle Finnegan, not just because he was the one to get the save in Jansen's absence Thursday but because his likely top competition, Will Vest, hit the IL with right forearm inflammation Saturday. Finnegan looks like the clear top choice in terms of his recent usage as well as his 113 career saves. It's worth noting, though, that while he has an 0.54 ERA on the season, his 13:10 K:BB is quite poor, leading to a 4.89 SIERA. Other Tigers relievers whose underlying numbers better support their ERAs this season include Brant Hurter (1.50 ERA, 3.22 SIERA) and Burch Smith (2.16 ERA, 2.68 SIERA), both of whom could see save chances if the Tigers open the competition up.

Bullpen Deep Dive

Baltimore Orioles

*gmLI is the average Leverage Index when a pitcher enters the game. 1.0 is average; closers typically sit north of 1.50.

Orioles closer Ryan Helsley has pitched quite well this season, saving seven games while recording a 2.53 ERA and 32.6 percent strikeout rate in 12 appearances. He hit the injured list Friday with elbow inflammation, however, and while an MRI showed no structural damage, the ninth inning is open for at least two weeks and potentially much longer, as an elbow scare for any pitcher could turn into a long-term problem even if the initial reports are somewhat encouraging.

That means it's worth picking up an Orioles reliever now for the chance to receive at least two weeks' worth of save chances and possibly much more. Judging from the table above, there are plenty of viable options.

Garcia looks like the best choice according to his ERA and WHIP, and his SIERA is excellent as well. While he's striking out tons of batters, though, it's worth noting that Stuff+ and Location+ are both quite unremarkable, and he has virtually no history as a reliable high-leverage arm. The 32-year-old has pitched for seven different teams in his career and had made a grand total of just 30 big-league appearances through his age-30 season, plus 29 more last year. Still, his leverage index so far this year indicates that he's probably the favorite.

Andrew Kittredge, by contrast, has an established track record as a high-leverage arm, briefly serving as the Rays' closer a few years ago before going down with Tommy John surgery and picking up five saves for the Cubs down the stretch last season. The Orioles were the team that traded him to the Cubs at last year's deadline, and they reacquired him this past winter, so they clearly like him. His ERA and WHIP on the above table are terrible, but keep in mind that they come in just 3.1 innings of work, as he missed the start of the season with right shoulder inflammation. He had three good appearances before unraveling for seven earned runs against the Yankees on Sunday, but his past experience in the ninth inning should keep him in consideration.

Cano hasn't been one of the Orioles' highest-leverage relievers this season, but he could still find his way to the ninth inning during Helsley's absence. He has 15 saves for the Orioles since the start of the 2022 season, and while his numbers took a big step back last year, he's been dominant this season. His combination of an above-average strikeout rate and miniscule walk rate is good enough on its own, but when combined with an elite 67.9 percent groundball rate, it's led to incredible results. By Stuff+ and Location+, it's him, not Garcia or Kittredge, who should be the favorite.

Wolfram and Nunez are included on the above table as well, as they've pitched well in fairly high-leverage roles. Both have an ERA north of 4.00, but both have more encouraging ERA estimators (particularly Wolfram) and Stuff+ numbers that beat both Garcia and Kittredge. They could see a save or two if the Orioles fully commit to a committee in Helsley's absence, but it's hard to see either of them claiming a true, long-term closer job.

Injury Round-Up

Kirby Yates, Angels: Yates has been out all season with knee inflammation. He allowed runs in each of his first three rehab appearances but threw a clean inning with two strikeouts Saturday. Nobody in the Angels' bullpen has come close to staking a strong claim on the closer role since Jordan Romano was designated for assignment, so Yates could get the chance to close one he's ready to return. 

Ben Joyce, Angels: The flamethrowing righty could be the Angels' long-term closer. He's been out for over a year since undergoing labral repair surgery last May but recently began a rehab assignment Wednesday. He's yet to allow a run in two innings of work but did allow multiple baserunners in both of his rehab outings. He's likely still a few weeks away given the length of his absence, but if nobody else claims the closer job in his absence, he could get the chance to win the role. 

Josh Hader, Astros: Hader has been out all season due to biceps tendinitis, an injury he picked up in February while working his way back from a shoulder strain that ended his 2025 season in August. He's set to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday, though he's ineligible to return before May 24 since he's been placed on the 60-day injured list. Barring setbacks, he should step right back into his traditional closer role if he's anywhere close to his previous talent level.

Raisel Iglesias, Braves: Iglesias has been out since April 21 with shoulder inflammation but is expected to be activated Tuesday. Robert Suarez has done a very good job in his absence but is expected to retreat to a setup role once Iglesias is ready to go.

Edwin Diaz, Dodgers: Diaz underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow on April 22 and will be out until sometime in the second half. Tanner Scott has picked up both saves in his absence.

Ryan Helsley, Orioles: Helsley was placed on the injured list Friday with right elbow inflammation, though his MRI revealed no structural damage and he could resume throwing this week. A discussion of the possible closer alternatives in his absence can be found above in the "Bullpen Deep Dive" section.

Pete Fairbanks, Marlins: Fairbanks has been out since last Tuesday with a nerve issue in his hand, a problem he's dealt with in previous seasons. The Marlins are optimistic he won't miss more than the minimum 15 days. Tyler Phillips, Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender are candidates to receive save chances in his absence.

Jhoan Duran, Phillies: Duran has been out since mid-April with a left oblique strain but is expected to return Tuesday. Brad Keller has the Phillies' lone save in his absence. 

Carlos Estevez, Royals: Estevez has been out with a bruised foot since getting hit by a line drive in his season debut but is expected to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday. His velocity in his rehab games will be important to monitor, as he was down several ticks throughout February and March. If his velocity is back, he'll probably reclaim his closer job from Lucas Erceg, who has a 3.77 ERA but a 4.73 SIERA and 1.40 WHIP on the season. Erceg has been pitching better lately, though, so he could keep his job if Estevez still doesn't look like himself. 

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.