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Closers and Saves Waiver Wire Report for Fantasy Baseball - Week 10

Adbert Alzolay - Fantasy Baseball Closers, Saves, Waiver Wire Pickups

Fantasy baseball closers, saves, and bullpen waiver wire pickups for June 2, 2023. David's relief pitcher and bullpen updates, and potential closers to add.

Baseball is a funny sport. Some weeks it feels like absolutely everything that can happen happens and other weeks feels like there were barely any games played at all. It's a long season though, and the ebb and flow is one of the things that, in our opinion, makes baseball so great.

There was bad news for a couple of teams this week, but amazing news for baseball as a whole as well which more than made up for it. Another week closer to the official start of the summer also means that trade deadline thoughts are beginning to surface, while teams are really beginning to evaluate those bullpen situations. Let's take a look at what went down this week in the bullpens around baseball.

Be sure to also keep an eye on our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens. They will be updated daily or sometimes even more often throughout the 2023 baseball season. 

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Chicago White Sox - Bullpen and Closer News

One of the best moments of the season so far came out of the White Sox bullpen when closer Liam Hendriks ran to the mound for his first appearance after beating cancer. A thunderous ovation greeted him and a rare Liam Hendriks smile on the mound made its way across the closer's face. It certainly wasn't the best outing of his career, as he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in an inning of work, but the stat line certainly wasn't what mattered this time.

Hendriks will work his way back into the ninth inning before long, but he'll likely see a few appearances earlier in the game just to get him back up to speed. Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo Lopez, and Joe Kelly should find themselves back in setup roles without too many save opportunities fairly soon.

Risers: Liam Hendriks
Fallers: Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo Lopez, Joe Kelly

 

Tampa Bay Rays - Bullpen and Closer News

The Rays just got their closer back from the injured list, but sometimes life can be unfair...banks. Pete Fairbanks came back from the injured list, pitched four innings, then went right back on it. This time, a hip issue will force him to miss time, although an MRI revealed no structural damage so the hope is that he won't miss too much time.

In the meantime, Jason Adam will resume head of committee duties in the Rays bullpen, with Colin Poche and Kevin Kelly seeing some ninth innings as well. Jalen Beeks earned a save this week, but it was Kelly that was brought in for the ninth and Beeks came in to relieve him after a rough start to the inning. Fantasy managers looking to add a Rays reliever should go with Adam.

Risers: Jason Adam
Fallers: Pete Fairbanks

 

Chicago Cubs - Bullpen and Closer News

The Cubs bullpen started the season as a committee split mostly between Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger. Now that it's June, the Cubs bullpen remains a committee split between two guys...but it's two completely different guys now.

Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay have been splitting save duties for the Cubs, and both are well available in a lot of standard leagues. Leiter Jr. has a bit more fireman potential in him, so we could see Alzolay see just slightly more save chances going forward. Both are strong options in holds leagues, but managers looking for saves in standard leagues could flip a coin and take a chance on one or the other. The Cubs as a team only have seven saves this season, but that figures to normalize at least somewhat going forward.

Risers: Mark Leiter Jr., Adbert Alzolay
Fallers: Michael Fulmer

 

Short Relief - Other Bullpen News

-Sounds like the Cardinals may be going into more of a committee approach, with manager Oli Marmol saying he'd start going with the "hot hand" between Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos.

-The Nationals also seem like they may be committing to a committee, with Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey both seeing ninth-inning work.

-David Bednar saved nine games for the Pirates in April, then just one in May. Again, baseball is a funny sport sometimes.

-Marlins closer A.J. Puk is getting closer and closer to coming back. Manager Skip Schumaker said the next step is for Puk to make back-to-back rehab appearances, and then he should be activated. He'll presumably resume his closer role soon after being activated.

-Caleb Ferguson has now officially joined the Dodgers closer committee, as in a game this week Brusdar Graterol got the seventh, Evan Phillips the eighth and one out in the ninth, then Ferguson the final two outs for the save.

-After Kenley Jansen did it last week, Craig Kimbrel earned his 400th big league save this week. Next in line among active players: Aroldis Chapman with 317 and Mark Melancon (kind of) with 262. It'll be a while until we see another 400th save.



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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Yordan Alvarez

Resumes Swinging -- Return Imminent?
Jake Burger

to Miss an Additional 2-3 Weeks
TreVeyon Henderson

Signs Rookie Contract
Christian Watson

Goes on PUP List
Austin Riley

Hopes to be Activated Next Week
Ketel Marte

Lands on Restricted List After Burglary
Ricky Pearsall

Heads to PUP List
Brandon Aiyuk

Placed on PUP List
Luther Burden III

Signs Rookie Deal
Washington Nationals

Eli Willits Expected to Sign Contract on Saturday
Grayson Rodriguez

Being Shut Down Again - Will We See Him Again This Year?
Ezequiel Tovar

Activated and Back in Lineup on Friday
Max Fried

"Hopeful" to Pitch Next Week - Looks Like He'll Avoid IL Stint
Steven Kwan

Receives Injection in Wrist, Considered Day-to-Day
CJ Abrams

Back to Start Second Half
Alec Bohm

Back From Rib Injury on Friday
Trey Hendrickson

Holdout to Spill into Regular Season?
Jalen McMillan

Bucs Offensive Coordinator Not Forgetting About Jalen McMillan
Levi Onwuzurike

to Miss at Least Four Games
Nick Emmanwori

Seahawks, Nick Emmanwori Reach Agreement on Rookie Deal
Max Holloway

Set For Main Event
Brandon Lowe

Back From 10-Day Injured List
Dustin Poirier

Set For His Final UFC Fight
Roman Kopylov

Set For Co-Main Event
Paulo Costa

Returns At UFC 318
Luis L. Ortiz

to Remain on Leave for Another Month - Will he Pitch Again?
Daniel Rodriguez

Looks For Third Win In A Row
Kevin Holland

Set For His Fourth Fight This Year
Dan Ige

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
MMA

Patricio Freire Set For His Second UFC Fight
Daniel Zellhuber

Set To Open Up UFC 318 Main Card
Michael Johnson

Looks For Third Consecutive Win
Elijah Arroyo

Signs Rookie Deal
Jaydon Blue

Described as "Borderline Lazy"
T.J. Sanders

Bills Sign T.J. Sanders to Rookie Deal
Christian Wilkins

Raiders Put Christian Wilkins on PUP List
Jabari Small

Lions Add Jabari Small to Backfield
Quinshon Judkins

Remains Unsigned, Won't Report With Rest of Rookies
Mason Taylor

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Jets
Hendon Hooker

Leading Lions QB2 Battle Entering Training Camp
Ozzy Trapilo

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Bears
Tate Ratledge

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Lions
Jack Bech

Signs Rookie Contract with Raiders
Yegor Chinakhov

Requests Trade
Dakota Joshua

Maple Leafs Acquire Dakota Joshua
Lukas Dostal

Signs Five-Year Extension with Ducks
Shemar Stewart

Not Practicing With College Team
Eugenio Suárez

Eugenio Suarez Expected Back Friday
Damian Lillard

Returning to Portland
Paul Skenes

Pirates Could Preserve Paul Skenes in Second Half
Brooks Barnhizer

Grabs 19 Points, Nine Boards in Summer League Win
Jeremiah Fears

Scores 22 Points in Summer League Loss to Thunder
Isaiah Collier

Collects 17 Points In Summer League Win
Caleb Houstan

Joins Hawks
AJ Johnson

Erupts for 25 Points in Summer League Loss
Washington Wizards

Leaky Black Logs Double-Double in Loss to Jazz
Connor Norby

Undergoes Surgery, Expected to Miss 6-8 Weeks
Trey Alexander

Tallies 25 Points in Losing Effort
Johni Broome

Records Second Consecutive Double-Double
Jahmir Young

Has Historic Summer League Outing
Rob Dillingham

Plays Big Role in Wednesday's Win
Tyrese Proctor

Erupts for 35 Points Against Kings
Cody Williams

Leads Jazz to Victory Against Wizards
LeBron James

Mavs Not Interested in "Gutting its Roster" For LeBron James
Josh Hart

Undergoes a Procedure on Right Finger
Jake Burger

Goes on 10-Day Injured List With Quad Strain
Sal Frelick

Dealing With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain, TBD for Start of Second Half
Chris Sale

Plays Catch
Los Angeles Clippers

Bradley Beal Heading to Los Angeles to Join Clippers After Contract Buyout
Rayan Rupert

Scores 24 Points in Summer League Win
Derik Queen

Collects Third Consecutive Double-Double in Summer League Loss
GG Jackson II

Records 13 Points in Summer League Action on Tuesday
Johni Broome

Logs Double-Double Against Wizards
DaRon Holmes II

Records Double-Double in Summer League Loss to Raptors
Kyle Schwarber

Named All-Star Game MVP
Harris English

Takes Stellar 2025 Performance to The Open Championship
Aldrich Potgieter

Seeks Better Result in Northern Ireland
Cameron Young

Likely to Hang Around at The Open Championship
Cameron Smith

Just Trying to Make the Cut at Royal Portrush
Jordan Spieth

Is Jordan Spieth Still a Natural for Links Style Golf?
Patrick Reed

a Viable Option at The Open Championship
PGA

Sungjae Im Wants to Rebound from Last Experience at Royal Portrush
Xander Schauffele

Looks to Defend His Claret Jug at Royal Portrush
Tony Finau

Trying to Turn Tide at Royal Portrush
Daniel Brown

Seeks a Rebound at The Open Championship
Rory McIlroy

Will be the Most Watched Player This Week at Royal Portrush
Daniel Berger

Trending Poorly as The Open Championship Looms
Clayton Kershaw

Retires Both Batters In ASG Appearance
Robert MacIntyre

Hoping to Bounce Back at Open Championship
Shane Lowry

Hopes to Repeat at Royal Portrush
Brian Harman

Hopes to Rekindle Some Magic at the 153rd Open
UTA

Michael Carcone Returns to Utah on One-Year Contract
Bowen Byram

Signs Two-Year Deal with Sabres
Morgan Barron

Jets Re-Sign Morgan Barron for Two Years
PGA

Chris Gotterup Punches Ticket to Royal Portrush With Win at Scottish Open
Bryson DeChambeau

Hopes to Reverse Links Golf Struggle at the 153rd Open
Keegan Bradley

Needs to Find The Weekend at Royal Portrush for Ryder Cup Hopes
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied For 22nd at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Jon Rahm

Finishes in Second at LIV Andalucia
Tallison Teixeira

Suffers First-Round TKO
Derrick Lewis

Scores First-Round TKO
Stephen Thompson

Loses Controversial Split Decision
Gabriel Bonfim

Wins Controversial Split Decision
Calvin Kattar

Gets Outclassed At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Extends His Win Streak
Nate Landwehr

Gets Knocked Out
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Scores Third-Round Knockout
Austen Lane

Suffers Submission Loss
Vitor Petrino

Scores First-Round Submission In Heavyweight Debut
Tuco Tokkos

Earns His First UFC Win
Chase Elliott

Charges to A Finish of Third At Sonoma
Chase Briscoe

Finishes Second With his First Career Road-Course Top-Five at Sonoma
Christopher Bell

Rollercoaster Day Ends With Top-5 Finish at Sonoma
William Byron

Maintains the Regular-Season Points Lead
Kyle Busch

Earns A Hard-Fought Top-10 Finish At Sonoma
Alex Ovechkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
PIT

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs
NHL

Nikolai Kovalenko Returns to Russia
Tyler Reddick

Evades Near Upset to Remain Alive in In-Season Challenge
Ty Gibbs

One of Three Tylers to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinals
Kyle Larson

Curiously Mediocre at Sonoma Before Late-Race Crash
NASCAR

John H. Nemechek Edges Out Teammate to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Alex Bowman

Ty Dillon Bumps Alex Bowman to Advance to In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Shane Van Gisbergen

Can Anyone Beat Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma?
Tyler Reddick

Better at Sonoma Than Record Shows
Chase Elliott

a Prime DFS Option at Sonoma
Michael McDowell

Struggling a Bit at Sonoma
NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
NASCAR

Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Ryan Preece

Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma
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