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David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 9 (2025). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.
Injuries, recoveries, saves, blown saves...suspensions! It was another predictably unpredictable week in the bullpens of Major League Baseball. The deeper we get into the baseball season, the more things seem to make sense in some bullpens while others go completely awry.
Is there a new closer in Chicago? Is there finally a change in Texas? Does anyone know what the Marlins are doing? How will the Phillies bullpen work without Alvarado? Are the Tigers for real? Play 20 Questions with us, read on!
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.
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Waiver Wire Pickups For Standard Leagues
Robert Garcia, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 11% of leagues)
Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 2% of leagues)
So...does anyone know what's going on in the Rangers' bullpen? Chris Martin looked set to take over the closer's role, but he made his way to the injured list with a shoulder injury and is now out of the picture. The Rangers keep giving Luke Jackson chances, and he keeps proving them wrong.
This week, Jackson blew a save and took a loss, falling to 0-4 and nursing a 5.52 ERA. Robert Garcia would seemingly be next up based on his team-leading 10 holds, but he's allowed runs in two straight outings, and the team seems to prefer him in a setup role.
Shawn Armstrong has two saves this season, both recent, but has had an even more recent four-run-allowed appearance without recording an out.
Another wild card in the Rangers' bullpen could be former starter Jon Gray, who is currently recovering from a wrist injury. Before the season, there was some chatter that he could work out of the bullpen and ascend into the closer's role. While that hasn't been openly discussed by the team since, they could certainly use someone to step up.
Gray isn't expected back for another few weeks, so don't run to the wire for him, but keep an eye on him just in case.
Jon Gray ⛽️⛽️ pic.twitter.com/Yo0JoRuGJb
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 31, 2023
Justin Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks (Rostered in 56% of leagues)
Shelby Miller, Arizona Diamondbacks (Rostered in 29% of leagues)
The Arizona bullpen is very close to getting a major reinforcement back from the injured list. Justin Martinez, who has been on the shelf with a shoulder injury since the end of April, has completed his rehab and could be back with the team this weekend for their series against the Cardinals.
Martinez definitely looked healthy, hitting 101 mph on the radar gun in one of his Triple-A rehab outings. While Arizona may not throw him immediately back into the closer role, he does figure to be the preferred option once he has a few lower-leverage outings under his belt. Shelby Miller has done a commendable job in the meantime, and he should maintain value in holds leagues, but his saves counter is likely close to drying up.
Justin Martinez's RIDICULOUS 90MPH Splitter. 😳
WTF pic.twitter.com/Mj5B8bKRxN
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2025
Daniel Palencia, Chicago Cubs (Rostered in 7% of leagues)
The Cubs started the season thinking veteran Ryan Pressly would be their closer, but then he struggled his way out of the role. After that, Porter Hodge (sort of) took over, struggled a bit, and then got injured. Hodge is currently on the IL with an oblique injury, and Pressly is working primarily in the seventh innings of games.
In steps Daniel Palencia. Palencia throws hard and has a 2.16 ERA through 16 2/3 innings this season. He was riding a 10-game scoreless streak into his first save situation, so of course we know what happened: his first blown save and first loss of the season. Still, he was back out there for the next save situation two days later, and that's certainly the type of usage you'd expect from a team's closer.
Palencia will be set up by Pressly, Brad Keller, and Drew Pomeranz, all of whom may see occasional save chances themselves. Still, it's looking like it'll be Palencia's job more often than anyone else's. He should be added in most leagues right now, and is available almost everywhere.
Daniel Palencia: 3 outs on 10 pitches — all fastballs, almost all over 100 MPH with movement. pic.twitter.com/QHq8DCFzHn
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) April 19, 2025
Jordan Romano, Philadelphia Phillies (Rostered in 70% of leagues)
Matt Strahm, Philadelphia Phillies (Rostered in 20% of leagues)
The big bullpen news of the past week was the suspension of Jose Alvarado, who will need to take 80 games off after a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance. Before the suspension, Alvarado and Romano mostly split duties at the end of Phillies wins. Without Alvarado around, it should be Romano much more often than anyone else. He earned his sixth save of the year on Thursday.
Guys like Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering could see save chances occasionally, especially Strahm as a left-handed complement for Romano. Romano is the one to roster from this bullpen and is still free in almost one-third of leagues. Strahm's holds league value shoots up with Alvarado's suspension as well.
Matt Strahm might be one of the more underrated relievers in baseball!
He's been solid for years now! pic.twitter.com/ysx7UmjE4U
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) April 23, 2025
Will Vest, Detroit Tigers (Rostered in 40% of leagues)
Tommy Kahnle, Detroit Tigers (Rostered in 31% of leagues)
The Tigers are still the best team in baseball. Despite all the wins, the team has recorded only four saves in May. Two of those saves have gone to Will Vest, with another going to Tommy Kahnle and one to Beau Brieske. Vest seems to have the most significant slice of the Tigers' closer pie, although Kahnle also makes for a solid fantasy asset in deeper leagues.
Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues
Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 19% of leagues)
David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 41% of leagues)
The Pirates have wavered between David Bednar, then Dennis Santana, then David Bednar again, then Dennis Santana again, and now they may be finally settling into an actual committee. Since May 1, Santana has two saves and Bednar has one (the Pirates only have five wins in that span).
Neither Pirates pitcher is a must-roster in all leagues given Pittsburgh's overall struggles to win, but either guy should provide deeper league value. Santana remains the slight favorite for now and is much more available on waiver wires.
David Bednar, Elevated 96mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/CLHtou66vw
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 22, 2023
Yimi Garcia, Toronto Blue Jays (Rostered in 11% of leagues)
Jeff Hoffman is having a rough 2025. He has a 6.04 ERA, three blown saves, and has allowed 13 runs in six innings since May 6. Meanwhile, Yimi Garcia has a 3.15 ERA and has allowed seven runs all season. Garcia is second on the team (behind Hoffman) with three saves. While the team has stuck with Hoffman through his struggles so far, there may be a point coming soon when a switch is made.
If a change is made, Garcia is almost certain to take over the role, or at least the largest part of what could be another committee. With Garcia available in most leagues right now, he'd make a great speculative add and will be an immediate waiver wire favorite if the Blue Jays announce a change.
Yimi García's 2Ks in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/fWgiAGQgXq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 2, 2025
Short Relief: More Bullpen Notes
-This week's saves leader is a three-way tie between Kenley Jansen, Emilio Pagan, and Andres Munoz. Each closer had three saves.
-The holds lead for the week goes to Ryan Zeferjahn, with four.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins are really taking a full-on committee approach, where bullpen guys pitch in vastly different situations from one day to the next. A little bit earlier in the season, it looked like Calvin Faucher would pitch the ninth inning, but then he started appearing much earlier in games.
Last week, it looked like maybe Jesus Tinoco was carving out the closer's role, then he started appearing in the fifth inning.
No one in the Miami bullpen needs to be rostered in most formats, but Ronny Henriquez leads the team in holds and has been impressive with some nice swing-and-miss stuff.
New York Yankees
Luke Weaver seems to be locked into the closer's role in the Bronx. He has five saves since May 1 and has allowed only one run on three hits since the month began. He has a pristine 0.40 ERA on the season. Devin Williams, who was ousted from the role early in the season, has shown some significant improvement but still won't reclaim his role, according to manager Aaron Boone.
Boone said Williams "is going to be in high-leverage situations," but that there isn't a plan to move on from Weaver in the ninth. Williams has worked in the eighth inning and earned his fifth hold of the year on Thursday.
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