Closers and Saves Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Report for Week 21 (2025)

August 17, 2025

David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 21 (2025). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.

Compared to the wild trade deadline week and the one that followed, this past week was a much quieter week in the bullpens across the league. Some big news out of one bullpen, but comparatively not a whole lot is going on in most others. A nice change!

Still, there's always something, and this week that could be a very meaningful something to fantasy teams in the playoffs and on their way there, as one of the league's best closers will miss at least a couple of weeks and maybe more. Also, what looked like a set role bullpen after the deadline might be going back to a committee approach, and another injury made things change in another bullpen.

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. 

Waiver Wire Pickups For Standard Leagues

Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 32% of leagues)

Dennis Santana is still the Pirates closer. Santana still has a 2.47 ERA. Santana is still available in more than two-thirds of fantasy leagues out there. The saves haven't really been coming, but we all know how unpredictable those chances can be, and it's not hard to imagine the Pirates suddenly providing three save chances in a week and Santana locking down all three.

Dennis Santana RHP@Pirates

1 IP
1 H
0 BB
3 K
0 ER#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/WwA4zmk2MB

— Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) July 22, 2025

Jose A. Ferrer, Washington Nationals (Rostered in 8% of leagues)

EDIT: Ferrer tossed the eighth on Thursday, picking up his 20th hold and leaving the save for Cole Henry.

The Nationals finally had a save chance this week, and Jose A. Ferrer got four outs and earned his first save of the season and the second of his career. He's been pitching well, allowing just four earned runs since the month of July began. The Nationals may not provide him with a ton of save chances down the stretch, but he does seem to be locked into the closer's role, and that's always going to create some fantasy value. Ferrer is available in almost every league and is worth rostering in deeper formats for sure.

José Ferrer @Nationals lanzó 1 entrada y 1 tercio, permitió 3 hits y 0 carreras. Obtuvo su cuarta victoria de la temporada (4-3), 4.68 EFE.#AguiluchosMLB pic.twitter.com/8HTvw9Lx26

— Águilas Cibaeñas (@aguilascibaenas) August 14, 2025

Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros (Rostered in 46% of leagues)

EDIT: Josh Hader was diagnosed with a shoulder capsule strain. He won't throw for three weeks so it will be a while until he pitches again.

The big news of the week was Astros closer Josh Hader (shoulder) being placed on the injured list. Right now, there's a lot of uncertainty regarding the severity of the injury and how much time Hader might miss. One thing much more certain is who will benefit from Hader's time away, and that's Bryan Abreu.

Abreu has been excellent this season, posting a 1.64 ERA in 55 innings of work. He's been the clear number two bullpen arm behind Hader and should slide right into the closer's role now, although manager Joe Espada wouldn't define bullpen roles, and Abreu may still see some fireman work if a stronger lineup pocket comes up earlier.

Bryan Abreu's 4Ks in 2 IP. pic.twitter.com/nO7G9DXYDb

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 29, 2025

Randy Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants (Rostered in 48% of leagues)

Randy Rodriguez continues to put up absolutely elite numbers, posting a 1.51 ERA and 64 strikeouts compared to just 11 walks in 47 2/3 innings. Those numbers were good enough to garner fantasy attention even without a defined role, but now he's the closer and still remains rostered in fewer than half of fantasy leagues.

The Giants are scuffling and not winning often, but we've all seen how quickly that can change, and an elite pitcher in a closer's role should absolutely be rostered and starting in almost every fantasy league.

THIS IS A RANDY RODRÍGUEZ PROPAGANDA ACCOUNT pic.twitter.com/YR3IGtRRIp

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) June 6, 2025

Phil Maton, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 21% of leagues)

No one was really sure what role Phil Maton would play in the Rangers' bullpen when he was acquired from the Cardinals at the deadline. We knew he'd have some sort of important late-inning role, but he quickly made his way into a defined and locked-in closer's role.

He had a rough outing this week, allowing four runs and taking a blown save and a loss, but it was his first bad appearance as a Ranger, and it seems like the ninth-inning job is still his. Maton puts up good strikeout numbers, and with Texas hanging out in the AL wild card race, he should see some save chances coming up.

What a pitch from Phil Maton. pic.twitter.com/we3IiXV12h

— Michael Bier (@MichaelJBier) August 12, 2025

Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues

Keegan Akin, Baltimore Orioles (Rostered in 10% of leagues)
Yennier Cano, Baltimore Orioles (Rostered in 3% of leagues)

EDIT: Dietrich Enns picked up the save on Thursday after Akin was used in a seventh-inning leverage spot.

With Felix Bautista's season officially over, it looks like Keegan Akin is settling in as closer for Baltimore, but Yennier Cano should still see some ninth-inning chances when opponents have bigger right-handed bats due up. Both make sense in holds leagues, but Akin is likely the better add in saves-only formats.

Justin Topa, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 3% of leagues)
Cole Sands, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 4% of leagues)

We saw a flip in the Twins bullpen this week, as Justin Topa seems to have taken over the closer's role after it looked like Cole Sands would play that part. Both are widely available, but neither needs to be rostered in shallow formats. Managers in deeper leagues could take a look here, though, and maybe earn a save or two down the stretch.

Michael Kelly, The Athletics (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
Sean Newcomb, The Athletics (Rostered in 3% of leagues)
Elvis Alvarado, The Athletics (Rostered in 1% of leagues)

No one on the Athletics has earned a save or a hold this month, so it's pretty tough to tell who their closer will be for the remainder of the season. Based on usage, though, Michael Kelly and Sean Newcomb figure to at least make up each side of a right/left platoon in late-game leverage situations. Elvis Alvarado could sneak in some work as well.

JoJo Romero, St. Louis Cardinals (Rostered in 30% of leagues)
Riley O'Brien, St. Louis Cardinals (Rostered in 3% of leagues)

The Cardinals' relievers have mostly been sharing late-game duties. JoJo Romero had a rough outing this week in which he blew a save and took a loss, but he still seems to have a slight edge over Riley O'Brien for closing duties. It's far from a set role at this point, though.

Short Relief: More Bullpen Notes

-This week's saves leader is Kenley Jansen, with three.

-The holds leader for the week is Matt Strahm, with three.

-The Tigers had been using Kyle Finnegan exclusively as their closer since acquiring him at the trade deadline, but this week, Will Vest made his way back into the ninth and earned two saves. It looks like it could be back to a committee in Detroit.

-Victor Vodnik earned two saves this week in the post-Seth Halvorsen Rockies bullpen era. Fantasy managers in the absolute deepest leagues might take a look.

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