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David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 1 of the playoffs (2025). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.
The playoffs are here and it's beautiful. We've already had some excellent baseball and it seems like there's a certain promise for more great games ahead. All but one of the Wild Card Series went all three games and were very closely contested and we're looking set for some excellent Division Series action coming up too.
Most normal fantasy leagues have been over for a while, but there are some postseason leagues and of course there's always daily fantasy around as well. Closer Reports for the rest of this season will be a little different as there's not really a waiver wire to pick up from, and any relevant fantasy formats aren't going to need Dennis Santana or Calvin Faucher recommended to them, right?
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 new information becomes available.
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Playoff Bullpens
Los Angeles Dodgers
The first team through to the Division Series are the Los Angeles Dodgers, who knocked off the Reds in the only Wild Card sweep. The Dodgers had some rough bullpen struggles throughout the regular season, and some of those same struggles seem to have shown up in the postseason.
A new face and arm has joined the bullpen though, and could be the answer to a whole lot of questions in LA. Roki Sasaki, suddenly throwing 100 mph with ease, looks like he may have the trust of his manager and could see some of the highest leverage innings when the Dodgers face the Phillies in the Division Series.
Sasaki didn't pitch in Game 1, but the Dodgers had that game mostly handled throughout. In Game 2, the possible new Dodgers closer appeared in the ninth inning and recorded the final three outs including two strikeouts. Meanwhile, a combination of Blake Treinen, Emmet Sheehan, and Alex Vesia somehow combined to throw 43 pitches just to get four outs. Sasaki got his three outs in just 11 pitches.
Rōki Sasaki, 100mph Fastball and 89mph Splitter/Fork, Individual Pitches + Overlay pic.twitter.com/aZbrwUDRth
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 2, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies
The goal of the Phillies bullpen is pretty simple: Get the ball to Jhoan Duran with a lead. After enjoying a bye through the Wild Card round, the Phillies bullpen will be completely well rested. We'll see Duran closing things out, with Matt Strahm and David Robertson splitting other high-leverage duties.
With big lefty bats like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy, the lefty Strahm could see some big time at bats late in games. While the Phillies haven't had to announce their official roster yet, the presence of those lefties in the Dodgers lineups makes Tim Mayza a liklely member of the playoff bullpen. Strahm will be the go-to option against lefties of course, but Mayza will likely see some big moments too.
Jhoan Duran slams the door on a @Phillies shutout! pic.twitter.com/HMyez4V7np
— MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2025
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers pretty comfortably won the National League Central and earned a bye through the Wild Card round. For most of the season, their closer was Trevor Megill, who ended up recording 30 saves. He missed the end of August and most of September with an elbow injury, but he was able to return for the last series of the regular season and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts, earning a win.
The bullpen is a strength for Milwaukee as long as Megill is healthy. He's set up by Abner Uribe, who led the league in holds in the regular season and took over as closer while Megill was hurt. They also have Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig, and Nick Mears, all who are likely to see significant high-leverage innings in the playoffs.
Trevor Megill, 101mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/s9sKqUHdvS
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 5, 2025
Toronto Blue Jays
They certainly didn't make it easy towards the end there, but the Blue Jays pulled it off at the end and won the American League East, giving them a nice break before their automatic advancement to the Division Series. The Jays bullpen was led by Jeff Hoffman this season, who had one of the more up-and-down seasons a closer can have without losing his role on the team for any significant period.
In the regular season, Hoffman recorded 33 saves, good for fourth most in baseball. But he also blew seven saves and had a 4.37 ERA to go with a home run rate almost double that of any other season where he was primarily pitching in relief. He was way better in the second half of the season though. His 5.03 ERA in the first half was frightening and while a 3.45 ERA in the second half isn't elite, it's certainly a huge improvement.
Along with Hoffman, the Blue Jays will be sending out trade deadline acquisition Seranthony Dominguez and Yariel Rodriguez in the late innings. Brendon Little has great swing and miss stuff from the left side, but his control is a serious concern. He should see some use in big situations too, though.
Jeff Hoffman in September:
🔹9.2 IP
🔹0.93 ERA
🔹1.03 WHIP
🔹3 SV
🔹.147 BAA (his best since March)Hoffman is ready for October🍁 pic.twitter.com/dYH1Q566vf
— SleeperBlueJays (@SleeperBlueJays) September 26, 2025
Seattle Mariners
An exciting end to the Mariners season centered around Cal Raleigh's 60 homers and also the clinching of the American League West. The 90-win Mariners had a strong bullpen, headed by Andres Munoz with help from Matt Brash and Gabe Speier. Munoz ended up third in baseball with 38 saves and a strong 32.7% K%.
The Mariners split their holds pretty evenly between Speier (24) and Brash (21), with Carlos Vargas also mixing in for 14 and Eduard Bazardo for 12. Caleb Ferguson is the most experienced lefty reliever on the roster and despite not having Speier's lefty upside, Ferguson figures to see some big spots in some late playoff innings as well.
Some people get blessed with a 100 mph arm, others get blessed with a nasty kick-changeup.
Andrés Muñoz got both. pic.twitter.com/YhYggwDzn5
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 6, 2025
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers survived an epic collapse at the end of the regular season and had to settle for a Wild Card entry into the playoffs instead of a division title. The Guardians won the division but the Tigers traveled to Cleveland and took care of business, winning Game 1 right away. They dropped Game 2 but regrouped and emerged victorious in Game 3, moving on to play the Mariners in the Division Series.
The Tigers bullpen usage was interesting all season, with Will Vest and Tommy Kahnle mostly splitting the closer's role before the trade deadline. In August, they were joined by Kyle Finnegan, who was acquired from the Nationals. Finnegan worked as closer in Detroit for a while before the team went back to a mostly committee-based approach between him and Vest.
Vest earned the save in Game 1 of the Wild Card series, following 7 2/3 innings of mastery by Tarik Skubal by getting last four outs of the game. In Game 2, Finnegan got five outs in the sixth and seventh innings, and then again in Game 3, he pitched early, getting four outs following starter Jack Flaherty. Then Vest came in and got the final five outs, earning his second save of the three game series. Given their usage, Vest appears to be the current hot hand and the preferred closing option going forward in the playoffs, while Finnegan will likely work in a more versatile role.
Will Vest. Sensational. pic.twitter.com/sw7UMsyIik
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 30, 2025
Chicago Cubs
All three games of the Padres-Cubs series were won by the team that scored three runs. Games 1 and 3 ended in favor of the Cubs with a 3-1 score, and Game 2 ended 3-0 for the Padres. The Cubs move on to play the Brewers in the Division Series and they do it with a slightly confusing bullpen. Daniel Palencia was bordering on elite in the regular season, but he was hurt near the end of the campaign and left closing duties to Brad Keller and Andrew Kittredge.
In Game 1, Palencia came on in the fifth inning and got five outs, then Kittredge pitched the eighth for a hold and Keller the ninth for the save. In Game 2, Kittredge played the role of opener, tossing the first inning in the only Cubs loss of the series. The clincher, Game 3, saw another multi-inning scoreless performance from Palencia, who recorded four outs starting in the fifth inning. Then Keller earned a hold and Kittredge a save this time. It's essentially anyone's guess what this bullpen hierarchy will look like in the next series, although Palencia does seem to be in a rally stopping, earlier inning but multi-inning role. Keller or Kittredge may be more likely to see the ninth inning.
Immaculate inning from Andrew Kittredge! pic.twitter.com/uUN2vmjZJc
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 6, 2025
New York Yankees
The long-storied rivalry that everyone is pretty much tired of watching provided a pretty good Wild Card series. The Red Sox got off to a good start with a 3-1 win in the first game after Garrett Crochet dominated for 7 2/3 innings before Aroldis Chapman got the last four outs for a save. The next two games didn't go quite as well for Boston though, as the Yankees claimed Game 2 with a 4-3 win. In that one, Carlos Rodon started and went six before Fernando Cruz, Devin Williams, and David Bednar combined for three scoreless frames. Williams ended up with the relief win and Bednar with the save.
In Game 3, the Yankees got an amazing start from Cam Schlittler, who struck out 12 in eight scoreless innings. David Bednar came on for the ninth inning and issued a walk, recorded a strikeout, and ended the game and the series. It wasn't a statistical save situation, but it was definitely closer usage, so it looks like Bednar will be the probable ninth inning option in the Division Series when the Yankees face the Blue Jays.
DAVID BEDNAR SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT.
The Yankees are headed to the Division Series! pic.twitter.com/NH1ggihIsP
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) October 3, 2025
Short Relief: More Bullpen Notes
-We ended up having two pitchers reach 40 saves, both leading their leagues. Robert Suarez led the National League with an even 40, and Carlos Estevez led all of baseball with 42.
-Abner Uribe held on to the holds lead despite working as the Brewers closer at the end of the season. He had 37 holds, two more than Hunter Gaddis, who finished in second place with 35.
-The blown saves leaderboard has Tanner Scott at the top, with 10. Ryan Helsley and Greg Weissert finished just behind him with nine each.
-Mike Vasil of the White Sox led the league in innings pitched as a reliever, with 90.
-The relief pitcher strikeout leader board has Jeremiah Estrada at the top, with 108 (in 73 innings!)
-There's a solid chance Mason Miller threw the best pitch in baseball history this week. This was the absolute perfect location for a pitch, and he threw it 104 mph.
104 MPH 🔥
Mason Miller is bringing the heat pitching on back-to-back days! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/S6TyC8G3iB
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025
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