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David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 25 (2025). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.
It is absolutely crunch time in every form of baseball right now, from real life teams fighting for a playoff spot to fake teams fighting in the fantasy finals. One save could be the difference between a trip to the real playoffs in real baseball or a trip to the bank (metaphorically, it's all Zelle, Venmo, and CashApp now, right?) in fake baseball.
Not much big bullpen news this week, but a lot of little bullpen news things to cover. Some unexpected names led the way in saves for the past seven days while some of the usual suspects didn't even save one. Plenty to cover, so let's get started.
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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Waiver Wire Pickups For Standard Leagues
Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 42% of leagues)
Dennis Santana didn't do much this week, pitching two hitless innings but not recording any saves or holds. Still, he's locked in as closer and should see any Pirates save chances from here until the end of the season. Save opportunities will forever be somewhat unpredictable, but it always helps to have a guy who we know will get the chance if his team has a close and late lead.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers (Rostered in 46% of leagues)
Just as we all predicted before the season started, the Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball with only about a week left to go. Closer Trevor Megill (elbow) was originally not expected to miss much time when he landed on the IL, but setbacks have set him back, and he is not expected to return in the regular season.
That means more save chances for Abner Uribe, who remains available in more than half of fantasy leagues right now. Uribe has pitched nine innings since Megill last appeared, and he's allowed two runs while recording a win, three saves, and two holds. He's an extremely valuable bullpen piece that should be much more widely rostered.
Abner Uribe is the goods #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/Q4B98VSylS
— Boogie Muse (@BoogieFlandMuse) September 2, 2025
Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 27% of leagues)
Rangers closer Shawn Armstrong has seen his rostered rate skyrocket, even this late in the season. While he's still only rostered in about one-quarter of fantasy leagues, he was coming in at under two percent just a few weeks ago. This week, Armstrong nailed down only one save, but struck out six in just 3 1/3 innings of work. The Rangers will need every win they can get from here on out, so Armstrong should see at least a couple of save opportunities coming up.
Just a reminder Shawn Armstrong is a dawg. pic.twitter.com/0USPP1bgBw
— SleeperRangers (@SleeperRangers) August 13, 2025
Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues
Brad Keller, Chicago Cubs (Rostered in 22% of leagues)
Andrew Kittredge, Chicago Cubs (Rostered in 28% of leagues)
The Cubs lost closer Daniel Palencia (shoulder) to the IL, but they still recorded four saves this week. Those four saves were split evenly, with Brad Keller earning two and Andrew Kittredge with two of his own. It seems like a fairly even split will continue, although Palencia is reportedly already throwing bullpen sessions and could be back before the end of the season. Still, Keller and Kittredge are both pretty widely available and could provide a save or two each before the season wraps up.
BRAD KELLER!!!!
— SleeperCubs (@SleeperCubs) September 1, 2025
Keegan Akin, Baltimore Orioles (Rostered in 11% of leagues)
The Orioles finally found a closer, maybe? With about a week left in the season, Keegan Akin has stepped into the role and done well, tying the league lead with three saves this week. That's seven on the year for the lefty, and even though his ratios are not particularly eye-popping, he could be a solid contributor for the last few days of the season.
Season series sweep 😎 pic.twitter.com/lPf3fYpvNC
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 17, 2025
JoJo Romero, St. Louis Cardinals (Rostered in 30% of leagues)
Riley O'Brien, St. Louis Cardinals (Rostered in 5% of leagues)
The Cardinals continue with their lefty/righty committee approach to the ninth inning, and this week that resulted in two saves for Riley O'Brien and two holds for JoJo Romero. It certainly hasn't been easy to predict which Cardinals reliever will get a save chance on any given day, which makes for two guys with much more value in holds leagues than in saves-only formats. Still, fantasy managers can likely find both guys on the waiver wire and maybe flip a coin from there.
Short Relief: More Bullpen Notes
-This week's saves leaders were Keegan Akin, David Bednar, Jhoan Duran, Cade Smith, and Robert Suarez, all with three.
-The holds leader for the week was Devin Williams, with four.
-David Bednar looks to have solidified the ninth-inning role for the Yankees.
-Carlos Estevez is the first to 40 saves this season. Robert Suarez should join him soon (he's at 39), but they'll likely be the only two to reach 40 this year.
-Kyle Finnegan (groin) is on a rehab assignment and could rejoin the Tigers' bullpen soon. (EDIT: He's back! Finnegan rejoined the Detroit bullpen on Friday.)
-Kenley Jansen (heart) is not traveling with the team for its Colorado series due to the altitude. Expect Luis Garcia or Brock Burke to get any ninth-inning looks, as Robert Stephenson's 2025 season is over due to elbow inflammation.
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