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Dan Palyo's top fantasy baseball closers to stash and waiver wire pickups for Week 11 of 2025. His favorite relief pitchers to add for sneaky waiver wire saves.
It seems that many of you are as thirsty as I am for finding every last save we can on the waiver wire, so we are bringing back the closer handcuff and waiver wire stashes for another week!
I will try to avoid highlighting all the same pitchers as last week and make sure to include some others I didn't touch on. Even since last week, several bullpen situations have changed significantly, and there are plenty of widely available relievers with save potential out there on the wire to be claimed.
If you are hunting for saves, then consider stashing some top relievers who currently aren't their team's top option in the ninth inning. In this article, I'll provide some of the top options to stash widely available in Yahoo leagues. To stay up to date with all the latest developments in the world of relief pitching, be sure to check out our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens.
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Fantasy Baseball Closer Handcuffs
In this section, I'll highlight some of the established setup men who are the clear backup to the current closer on their team. There's a lot of clarity here, and each pitcher is just an injury or a sudden inability to close (i.e., Raisel Iglesias) away from being promoted to the closer.
Jason Adam, San Diego Padres (41% rostered)
Randy Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants (28% rostered)
I highlighted Rodriguez last week and the phenomenal season that he's having. He's been nearly unhittable, and his 43:3 K:BB is simply incredible.
Randy Rodriguez this season:
🔥 29.1 IP
🔥 43 K
🔥 3 BB
🔥 0.61 ERA
🔥 0.61 WHIPALL-STAR pic.twitter.com/I5zCu3NAiC
— SleeperSFGiants (@SleeperSFGiants) June 8, 2025
The Giants are using Camilo Doval to close, but we should note that the former closer (Ryan Walker) has been bumped back to seventh-inning duty with Rodriguez now pitching the eighth. He'd be the next option at closer before San Francisco would go back to Walker, and is the preferred stash.
Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros (25% rostered)
Shelby Miller, Arizona Diamondbacks (24% rostered)
Abreu and Miller were both highlighted last week. Abreu has been outstanding, setting the table for Josh Hader, while Miller closed for a time when Justin Martinez was hurt.
Both remain solid insurance policies, though Miller could have to contend with A.J. Puk at some point. He's eligible to return on July 1 and was used as a high-leverage reliever by Arizona before getting hurt and during his tenure in Miami.
UPDATE: Justin Martinez left Monday's game early and will have an MRI, but it doesn't look good. Grab Miller now and worry about A.J. Puk later.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers (21% rostered)
Reed Garrett, New York Mets (17% rostered)
Uribe is the clear backup to Trevor Megill in Milwaukee, while Garrett is backing Edwin Diaz for the Mets. Both pitchers are solid options in roto formats even if they're not earning saves as they continue to pile up strikeouts and put up elite ratios.
Hunter Gaddis, Cleveland Guardians (17% rostered)
Last week, I featured Cade Smith as the Guardians' top reliever to stash and the likely successor to Emmanuel Clase. However, it's quite possible that Hunter Gaddis would have a chance to close, too, if Clase were to ever relinquish the job.
Gaddis has been arguably just as effective as Smith and has an ERA a full run lower. His 35 strikeouts in 25 innings are a great example of how dominant he's been. Perhaps Cleveland would use a committee of Gaddis and Smith in tandem, but for now, Clase has been pitching well and is firmly entrenched as the closer.
Matt Brash, Seattle Mariners (4% rostered)
Seattle closer Andres Munoz finally gave up an earned run, but he's still humming right along as one of the best closers in baseball, piling up 18 saves with top-notch ratios.
But the Seattle bullpen has done a great job of preserving the lead in close games for Munoz to close. Both Gabe Speier and Matt Brash have put up some impressive numbers.
Matt Brash's 2 Strikeouts.
1. 3 Knuckle Curve K
2. 3 Slider KJust to switch up his filth and show off. pic.twitter.com/jgwECyqqwU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 8, 2025
Brash missed the start of the season, so he's made just 12 appearances spanning 10 and 1/3 innings, but he's yet to allow an earned run while striking out 12. I would guess that Brash would be first in line to inherit the closer role from Munoz, with Speier being a lefty who could be used to match up against LHH in earlier innings.
Bryan Baker, Baltimore Orioles (3% rostered)
The Orioles' bullpen has been a disaster this season, but Baker has been one of the few bright spots. Felix Bautista is the established closer, but Baker has two saves this season and would be next in line to close. He's struck out 38 hitters over 29 frames and has a team-best 0.97 WHIP.
Relievers With Closer Potential on Teams With Closer Uncertainty
Tommy Kahnle, Detroit Tigers (34% rostered)
Kahnle hasn't picked up a save in a week but remains in the mix for saves as part of a committee with Will Vest. He should be rostered in more leagues since he's already piled up eight saves and is an injury to Vest away from getting all the save opportunities for the team with the best record in baseball.
Chris Martin, Texas Rangers (21% rostered)
Martin hears a popping noise when he throws, which is somewhat disconcerting, but he has been cleared to throw normally and has the most experience closing games of anyone in the bullpen. Now that Texas has moved on from Luke Jackson, it's likely between Martin and Robert Garcia as to who will be used in save situations.
Robert Garcia, Texas Rangers (18% rostered)
Garcia picked up his fourth save on Sunday and appears to have the edge right now between himself and Martin for the closer role, though it's also possible that Texas uses them in tandem for a while until one of them separates from the other.
Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates (17% rostered)
Santana was featured last week as the backup to the incumbent closer David Bednar. While Bednar has been solid over the last few weeks, he's had a rough couple of years in Pittsburgh, and his hold on the job probably isn't all that tight. There's also a possibility that the Pirates look to trade Bednar next month to a contender, which could open up the closer job for Santana (if he's not traded, too!)
Kirby Yates, Los Angeles Dodgers (41% rostered)
Michael Kopech, Los Angeles Dodgers (14% rostered)
The Dodger bullpen saga continues! The incumbent closer, Tanner Scott, picked up a save last night against the Padres for his second save in the last week. However, he was used in the eighth inning the night before with Michael Kopech coming in for the ninth (which ended up not being a save situation because the Dodgers added two additional insurance runs to extend their lead to four runs).
#Dodgers Michael Kopech pitching the 9th of a 4 run game
This is after Tanner Scott pitched the 8th and Kirby Yates pitched the 7th pic.twitter.com/TwqCMsuV0M
— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) June 8, 2025
Kirby Yates is back off the IL and the other Dodgers' reliever who will be used in high-leverage spots. It seems like the Dodgers are trying to get Scott back into the closer's role, but he's also likely on thin ice, as another blown save would probably force their hand to go to Yates or Kopech (or both in a committee).
Dylan Lee, Atlanta Braves (6% rostered)
It was not a save situation last night, but Dylan Lee pitched a clean ninth inning and has looked like the best reliever in Atlanta this season. This situation is a mess, but it appears that Atlanta is done with Raisel Iglesias, and while Pierce Johnson appeared to be the next in line to close, he's been very bad lately.
It would be somewhat unconventional to have a left-hander close, but at some point, Atlanta needs to roll with their best pitcher in the most valuable spot, so I think Lee makes for a savvy stash.
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