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David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 3 (2026). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.
Another week down and, as always, some more bullpen drama to go over. Not Angels-Braves levels of drama, or even Willson Contreras-Red Sox levels, but still: drama. This week, we got to see how some bullpens will handle slightly imperfect late-game situations. We also got to see one of the wildest reliever days in recent history.
In ONE day (Sunday, April 5), we got to see 11 reliever wins, 11 reliever losses, and 12 saves. That's 34 pitching decisions. There are only 30 teams! Clearly, there's a lot to cover, so let's go.
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 -- which you can also see at the bottom of this article below. They will be updated frequently throughout the 2026 baseball season as new information becomes available.
Closer Waiver Wire Pickups for Standard Leagues
Jakob Junis, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 18% of leagues)
Did the Rangers find their closer in 33-year-old journeyman Jakob Junis? Probably not for the long term, but at least right now, he looks like he might be the guy in the Texas bullpen. Junis got two save situations in back-to-back games and converted both, tying him for the team lead with two saves.
The other Rangers reliever with two saves is Tyler Alexander, but he's more of a reliable middle reliever who found himself in save situations the first week of the season. The way they've used Junis seems slightly different, like they may actually be installing him into the ninth-inning role. As always, though, we'll see.
Cole Winn and Jacob Latz could mix in for high-leverage outings, and Chris Martin has the veteran experience some teams love at the back of their pen. Robert Garcia is also still around and offers some closing experience, but at least for now, the Rangers don't seem to think he's the answer at the end of ball games.
Cole Winn and Jakob Junis closing out games in three consecutive. It’s a beautiful thing. Almost like that was our exact suggestion after Chris Martin blew the Cincinnati game.
Skip did drop a follow last week. pic.twitter.com/nFBkvXrQtz
— Right on Rangers (@RightOnRangers) April 8, 2026
Cole Sands, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 12% of leagues)
Justin Topa, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
Kody Funderburk, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
Cody Laweryson, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
Eric Orze, Minnesota Twins (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
This section is basically, "someone" in the Minnesota bullpen has to get saves, right? So far this season, the Twins have recorded five saves, and each one has gone to a different pitcher. There's almost no clarity regarding how they'll deploy their relievers this season, but Sands is the career leader out of this bunch with...nine. Topa has eight, Orze had four, Funderburk has three, and Laweryson earned his first earlier this week.
Sands would seem to be the most likely to take the helm here, but he led the league in holds this week with three and may be better suited in that role. Laweryson has had the most impressive swing-and-miss stuff and the best control so far, so he could be a dark horse of sorts here. His odds are hampered by a lack of experience (he's pitched 14 big league innings in his career, total), but it's not like any of the arms he's competing with have long, storied resumes either.
This is much more of a "wait and see" bullpen in most standard leagues, but AL-only managers and those in deeper leagues where saves come at a premium could try to roll the dice with any of these Minnesota guys and hope for the best. Fun stats alert, though, the Twins became only the third team in baseball history to have four straight wins in a series in which a different pitcher recorded a save in each one. Also, through 13 games, the Twins' bullpen has only thrown three pitches faster than 95 mph. That feels almost impossible in 2026!
Cody Laweryson #Twins made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his 1st career Player of the Game honor (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv vs. DET) in his 9th #MLB game.
Monday’s B-T Scorecard: https://t.co/e3nnUHEyRX pic.twitter.com/f5bfVqNRO1
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@BoxToppers) April 7, 2026
Riley O'Brien, St. Louis Cardinals (Rostered in 45% of leagues)
The Cardinals' bullpen looked like it might be a committee when the season started, but Riley O'Brien has made sure that is no longer the case. What originally seemed like a team effort between O'Brien, JoJo Romero, and Ryne Stanek has turned into a solidified ninth-inning spot for O'Brien, who is the only Cardinals reliever with more than one save this season.
We already knew he was the best reliever in the St. Louis bullpen, but O'Brien solidifying himself as the closing option makes him a must-roster in most formats. He's yet to allow an earned run this season in 7 1/3 innings and has always averaged about a strikeout per inning. Control hasn't always been his strength, but he's off to an excellent start there as he hasn't issued a walk yet.
Romero and Stanek should retain value in holds leagues (Romero especially), but in saves formats, it's O'Brien right now and should be most of the season, barring injury. He's out there on the wire in more than half of fantasy leagues, so check your wires and pick him up right away if he's there. Plus, what better way to know a guy is The Guy in a bullpen than his own entrance?
Riley O’Brien entrance #STLCards pic.twitter.com/utDqWwqqHe
— Mazyn (@MasynZyn) April 1, 2026
Erik Sabrowski, Cleveland Guardians (Rostered in 17% of leagues)
This is specifically a holds league recommendation: Erik Sabrowski needs to be rostered in all leagues where holds count. He leads the league in holds right now with five, and he's racked up 10 strikeouts in just six innings, all while allowing no runs. Small sample size warning, of course, but that's a 43.5 K% and 0.74 xERA.
He's entrenched as the late-inning lefty in Cleveland's bullpen and should see plenty of seventh and eighth-inning work ahead of Cleveland's closer, Cade Smith. Shawn Armstrong is the righty holds option in the Guardians bullpen and also worth a look in holds leagues, but Sabrowski is the huge upside guy right now.
Early into 2026 and Erik Sabrowski is proving that his 29 IP in 2025 wasn't a fluke. Shocking, I know, that the Guardians like a tall, high-extension, bullpen arm...
Sabrowski could be a really nice compliment to Cade Smith in high leverage moments
His stuff is DISGUSTING 🤮 pic.twitter.com/wOJVNyIBHb
— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) April 3, 2026
Short Relief: More Closers and Bullpen Notes
-This week's saves leader is Emilio Pagan, with three. He also earned a win this week, overall an excellent fantasy performance.
-The saves leader for the season so far is David Bednar of the Yankees, with five.
-The holds leaders for the week were Cole Sands and Grant Wolfram, each had three.
-The holds leader for the season is Erik Sabrowski, as mentioned earlier. He has five.
-There are seven pitchers tied for the league lead in blown saves, with two each. We'll get some more separation there soon, surely.
-Speaking of guys tied for the league lead in blown saves, Jeff Hoffman leads all relievers in strikeouts with 15 despite only 6 2/3 innings pitched. That's a very fun 20.25 K/9.
-Bryan Abreu is off to a wild start to the season. He's pitched just 3 2/3 innings, but issued seven walks, thrown two wild pitches, allowed three home runs, and struck out eight batters. The math there makes some fun numbers: 19.64 ERA, 19.64 K/9, 17.18 BB/9, and 7.36 HR/9.
-Michael Petersen for the Marlins and Rico Garcia for the Orioles both earned their first career saves this week. They were both situations where the team's usual closer was unavailable, and no reason to expect even remotely consistent saves for either guy.
-Pete Fairbanks missed a few games on the paternity list, but he is back with the team and should resume closer duties immediately.
-Josh Hader (biceps) could start facing live batters next week, which would be huge for a struggling Astros bullpen.
-Edwin Uceta (shoulder) will start a rehab assignment this week, and the Rays expect him back "[hopefully] just before May 1," according to manager Kevin Cash. With the Rays' bullpen in all sorts of shambles, Uceta could sneak back in and take over as the primary saves option if he gets off to a good start.
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