Closers and Saves Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Report for Week 8 (2025)

May 18, 2025

David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 8 (2025). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.

Another eventful and fun baseball week is in the rear-view mirror, and the bullpen chaos continues unfettered and seemingly knows no bounds. This week we have saves, blown saves, epic bat flips on the other side of blown saves, injuries, and more.

One team's closer got hurt, and their backup closer? Also hurt. Another team's presumed closer pitched in the fifth inning of a game, so what does anyone know about bullpens anyway? Well, hopefully, at least something. We're trying our best!

Let's dive into this week's report! As always, stay tapped in with our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens. They will be updated frequently throughout the 2025 baseball season as news breaks. 

Waiver Wire Pickups For Standard Leagues

Robert Garcia, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 13% of leagues)
Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
Chris Martin, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 30% of leagues)*

UPDATE: On Sunday, Chris Martin threw one pitch and immediately had to come out of the game. Luke Jackson was able to pitch after Robert Garcia was charged with a blown save. The Rangers bullpen saga continues.

The Rangers' bullpen situation was already kind of messy thanks to Luke Jackson's struggles, but it's even messier after this week. Jackson was forced to leave a game after taking a line drive off his forearm/hand area, which allowed Jacob Webb to earn his first save of the season and the seventh of his career.

The next save chance went to Chris Martin, as expected, but he was forced to leave the game after just one pitch due to an elbow injury. The team reports that an MRI on Martin's elbow did not reveal any structural damage, and they are hoping he'll avoid a trip to the injured list. Still, any kind of elbow injury should be taken seriously.

Shawn Armstrong has earned two saves this week, even though, based on the bullpen hierarchy previously used by the Rangers this season, Robert Garcia would have figured to be the next guy up. Garcia could still be the best short-term add right now, but fantasy managers in deeper leagues could take a chance on Armstrong to see how long he can hold onto a ninth-inning role.

#Rangers Luke Jackson left the game with an injury after taking a line drive off his pitching arm pic.twitter.com/kH4P3ry7iR

— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) May 13, 2025

Justin Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks (Rostered in 55% of leagues)
Shelby Miller, Arizona Diamondbacks (Rostered in 27% of leagues)

UPDATE: Justin Martinez has been doing well in rehab outings and will pitch at least one more time for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday before the team decides if he's ready to be activated in the middle of the week.

The Arizona bullpen has somewhat settled despite their top two arms missing significant time. Shelby Miller has established himself as the team's closer, saving three games in four chances. It hasn't been spotless, but he's getting the job done in May despite allowing eight hits, three walks, and three runs in six innings.

Justin Martinez is currently rehabbing from a shoulder injury and could end up taking back the ninth inning once he's ready. He's throwing to live batters, and a rehab assignment should be coming soon as long as he doesn't experience any setbacks. Martinez probably won't jump right into the closer's role, but once he's healthy, it's not hard to see him taking over for Miller pretty quickly.

Fantasy managers with an open IL spot could do worse than preemptively picking up Martinez and waiting to see what happens.

Shelby Miller looked incredible today as he struck out 3 in 2.0 IP

Miller revamped his pitch shapes and they all look stunning. His fastball had a ton of ride from his low slot and his splitter exhibited incredible separation. This is the blueprint for an elite RP! pic.twitter.com/JZrT29fwi8

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 29, 2025

Porter Hodge, Chicago Cubs (Rostered in 15% of leagues)
Drew Pomeranz, Chicago Cubs (Rostered in 5% of leagues)

Ryan Pressly is still recovering from his record-setting performance in which he allowed nine runs without getting anybody out. His ERA (currently 6.91) will stay inflated for a while after that one, but the team has put some faith into their veteran righty, giving him a pair of leverage situations this week in which he was able to get his job done successfully.

While it looks like the team may want to rebuild Pressly's confidence so he can regain the closer's role, for now, it's been Porter Hodge in the ninth, with a special appearance by Drew Pomeranz earlier this week. Pomeranz earned a save on Monday, his first since August 2020.

While it was likely more of a matchup-based thing (the lefty faced a lefty to start the inning), it's still worth keeping an eye on given the struggles of both Hodge and Pressly.

Drew Pomeranz strikes out Bryce Harper in his first MLB appearance since 2021 pic.twitter.com/I30hCegt4j

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) April 25, 2025

Jordan Romano, Philadelphia Phillies (Rostered in 41% of leagues)

UPDATE: Romano is now an absolute must-add in all formats, as Jose Alvarado has been suspended for 80 games due to a failed PED test. Romano picked up another save on Sunday and now has gone eight games without allowing a run.

Jordan Romano entered the season expected to be the Phillies closer, and then got off to a slow start. He allowed 15 runs in his first 11 appearances (nine 1/3 innings), recording just one save. Since then, though, he's been the Romano the Phillies were hoping for: six scoreless appearances, three saves, a hold, and eight strikeouts with no walks.

As a team, the Phillies are unlikely to have a fully locked-in everyday closer, but Romano has certainly worked his way into a committee that he'll share with Jose Alvarado. Romano was dropped in many leagues after the rough start to his Philadelphia career, but he's been very valuable lately and is seeing his rostered percentage skyrocket throughout all formats.

Jordan Romano, K'ing the Side. pic.twitter.com/FUzvNO35ds

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 14, 2025

Will Vest, Detroit Tigers (Rostered in 28% of leagues)
Tommy Kahnle, Detroit Tigers (Rostered in 32% of leagues)

The Tigers continue with their two-headed monster approach to the closer's role. Will Vest earned the only Tigers save this week while Kahnle earned one of two Tigers holds (alongside Brenan Hanifee). Detroit is suddenly home to the best team in baseball, so both Vest and Kahnle should provide plenty of fantasy value and should be rostered in way more leagues than they currently are.

If either guy ended up taking over the role outright, we'd be talking about a must-roster fantasy reliever. Even with them sharing the role, though, Vest and Kahnle should be fantasy assets going forward. Vest has a little more strikeout upside than Kahnle and seems to have taken just a slightly "bigger half" of the closer workload lately, making him the one to choose if you're picking between Tigers relievers right meow.

Will Vest, Dirty 89mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/3dfLsNRWZw

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 10, 2025

Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues

Jesus Tinoco, Miami Marlins (Rostered in 3% of leagues)

UPDATE: Tinoco was used in the seventh inning on Sunday, so maybe this bullpen will still be a little more fluid than we thought.

The Marlins seem like they'll be pretty fluid with roles this season, and not even just bullpen assignments (they're 42 games into the season and still haven't used the same lineup twice). This week at least, it looks like Jesus Tinoco is the guy the Fish Team wants closing things out.

Tinoco came into a game on Tuesday, blew the save, and took a loss while only getting one out. But he was back in there the very next day and retired the Cubs in order for his fourth save of the season. Tinoco has shown decent swing-and-miss stuff in the past, but it hasn't shown up yet this year (15.8 K%).

While Tinoco was pitching the ninth innings in save situations for two games in a row, Calvin Faucher appeared in the fifth inning on Tuesday and the sixth inning on Wednesday. It seems like he can be safely dropped by fantasy managers who were still holding onto some hope. Meanwhile, Anthony Bender could be developing some holds league value, collecting three holds this week while allowing only one hit.

How about Jesus Tinoco!

Strikes out both Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts to finish the bottom of the eighth inning.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/nni6rs9BQ9

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 29, 2025

Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 16% of leagues)

It always takes a little while for a new manager to show how he'll handle a bullpen, but new Pirates manager Don Kelly has been fairly consistent with his usage so far, which speaks very positively to Dennis Santana's fantasy value. Since Kelly took over on May 9, Santana has pitched in a ninth inning four times, while David Bednar has only done so once.

Bednar has maybe seen tougher lineup pockets in his setup role, but it has been Santana in those latest-game situations. While the sample size for Kelly is still small, it definitely seems like Santana is the closer right now, and Bednar is the "HLR" (high-leverage reliever) or fireman in the setup role.

Dennis Santana, Nasty 89mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/cru6HwYpsm

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 17, 2025

Yimi Garcia, Toronto Blue Jays (Rostered in 10% of leagues)

Jeff Hoffman is the Blue Jays closer but is going through a rough patch. In his first 14 games (16 1/3 innings), he allowed just two runs, striking out 23 while walking two and earning seven saves. Since then, he's appeared in five games, pitching three innings and allowing 11 runs on 10 hits and three home runs.

He's earned two saves and taken two losses in that time.

Hoffman has been good enough long enough to earn a little bit of leeway, but if he needs some time away from the role, either for injury or to get things right, it's likely Yimi Garcia who would take over. Garcia has three saves and is second on the team in holds with five. He earned a save on Wednesday and could be one more Hoffman blowup away from some more consistent save chances.

We are quickly approaching the territory of Yimi García being the most underrated RP in baseball. A jam-packed arsenal full of elite offerings and a 0 ERA over 9.1 IP to start the season

He has been clutch for the Blue Jays! pic.twitter.com/rnSddZ2qAs

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 17, 2025

Short Relief: More Bullpen Notes

-This week's saves leader was Jhoan Duran, who had three.

-The holds lead for the week was a five-way tie between Jordan Leasure, Louis Varland, Dylan Lee, Anthony Bender, and JoJo Romero.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have recorded three saves as a team this season, and they've gone to three different guys. Cam Booser, Brandon Eisert, and Mike Vasil each have one save. It doesn't seem like anyone from this bullpen will provide anything close to consistent fantasy value, but Eisert at least seems to have the chance for the best ratios among them.

Atlanta Braves

Raisel Iglesias has struggled his way to seven saves in 10 chances, posting a 5.71 ERA and a 5.72 xERA/6.10 FIP to back it. For now, nothing seems imminent in the Atlanta bullpen, but Daysbel Hernandez has a sneaky 1.89 ERA and six holds this year. Hernandez's underlying numbers are concerning (13:11 K:BB in 19 innings, 5.22 xFIP), but results matter, and he seems like he'd be next up if Iglesias needs time out of the role.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels' bullpen, which was already a bit thin, got even thinner this week with the news that fireballer Ben Joyce would miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Joyce's injury firmly places Ryan Zeferjahn next in line for saves in Anaheim, which could be significant since Angels closer Kenley Jansen is on a one-year deal, and the trade deadline is coming sooner than we think.

Brock Burke and Hector Neris have also seen leverage work ahead of Jansen, but Zeferjahn has the most upside by far.

San Diego Padres

Padres closer Robert Suarez had a horrendous Monday this week, allowing five runs while only getting one out. He walked four and took the loss, but came back two days later and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. He's only allowed one run all season outside of Monday's game and remains one of the game's elite closer options.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants only won once this week, so there wasn't much to go around in terms of bullpen stats, with no saves recorded and the only hold going to Camilo Doval. Ryan Walker was charged with a blown save and a loss after allowing two runs in the 10th inning of a game against the Twins. Walker still seems to have the edge for saves here, as Doval worked in the sixth and seventh innings of games this week.

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