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Fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for closers, saves, and bullpen arms for Week 21 (2024). David's relief pitcher and bullpen updates, and closers to add.
So now there's a little room between us and the trade deadline. The dust has started to settle and even the playoff race has started to change a bit, with some teams making moves in one direction while others go in the opposite. As things settled post-deadline, we saw some bullpens reformed, some new closers rise to the occasion, and some old closers settle down into earlier inning roles.
One team with a mercurial closer might now be going for a committee approach. Another team that went full committee all season might finally stick with one guy most of the time. One team has two new guys in their top leverage roles while their old guy moved to an earlier one. And finally (except not really, because bullpen news never ends), a dust-up in the desert led to a closer change as well. All that, and, as always, more in this week's report, so read on!
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 2024 baseball season.
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Sunday Quick Hit Closer Updates
-The Giants demoted Camilo Doval and will go with Ryan Walker in the closer's role for now. (Check the Friday edit below for more info.)
-The Royals placed Hunter Harvey on the injured list with tightness in his back, leaving Lucas Erceg and the struggling James McArthur as the two main leverage arms in the bullpen. Erceg should be lined up for some saves the next couple of weeks.
-Justin Martinez continues to operate as the Diamondbacks closer, appearing in the ninth inning of a tie game this weekend.
-Liam Hendriks is picking things up where he left off, reportedly going all out in live batting practice and "cursing up a storm".
-Reed Garrett returned from the injured list and struck out the side. He should quickly work his way back into a setup role.
-Devin Williams finally got his first save of the season this weekend.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Saves
Yennier Cano, Baltimore Orioles (Rostered in 31% of leagues)
Craig Kimbrel has had a roller coaster of a season. He has a 3.21 ERA and 23 saves, both solid numbers. He will almost certainly finish this season with more saves than he's had since 2018. But: he also has six blown saves and three losses. His numbers in high-leverage situations are significantly worse than in others. He seemingly goes through periods where he's unhittable, alternating with periods where he's just tossing out batting practice.
All this to say: it looks like Yennier Cano may be stepping into the ninth inning, at least in a timeshare with Kimbrel. Cano has two saves in his past three appearances (and three in his past five), and has allowed only one run in his past 10 outings. Cano is fifth in baseball with 25 holds and could be an elite option as a closer if he takes the role full-time. Still, even presumably as part of an Orioles committee, Cano should be rostered in most formats but is currently available in most leagues.
Yennier Canó, Wicked 90mph Changeup. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/16XvR3Z20i
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 27, 2024
Calvin Faucher, Miami Marlins (Rostered in 5% of leagues)
The Marlins traded one of the best relief pitchers in baseball about an hour before the trade deadline. Unfortunately for his fantasy managers, Tanner Scott went to San Diego, where he is now a setup man and no longer a closer. But that left a hole in the ninth inning for the Marlins, and that hole has been filled by Calvin Faucher. The Marlins have been playing better baseball lately, so there actually have been some save chances, and all of them since the deadline have gone to Faucher.
He's got decent numbers (3.30 ERA, 24.2% K%, 2.73 FIP), but it's still a bad team rounding out a (maybe) 100-loss season, so Faucher doesn't need to be rostered in all formats; he's in a solidified closer's role and can provide decent enough ratios. He can be scooped up in deeper leagues or even in standard formats by managers with teams where an extra save a week could make a significant impact. Faucher and fellow Marlins reliever Declan Cronin are the only two pitchers in baseball who have pitched at least 40 innings without allowing a home run.
Calvin Faucher 3-pitch K of Julio Rodríguez to keep this game tied pic.twitter.com/Q4Z4JVY1Ko
— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) June 22, 2024
Justin Martinez, Arizona Diamondbacks (Rostered in 14% of leagues)
"Disaster in the Desert" feels way too dramatic, but in 20 save chances, Paul Sewald has 16 saves. He has a 3.94 ERA with a 4.83 xERA and by far the lowest strikeout rate of his career (24.4% K%). After a few recent struggles, he was officially removed from the Diamondbacks closer's role. While their ninth inning is still a committee that includes A.J. Puk and still Sewald, it's seemingly been Justin Martinez who has been either used in or warming up for the majority of Arizona's recent save chances. Martinez got back-to-back save chances this week and is on a run of five straight scoreless outings. His 1.97 ERA/2.61 FIP points toward continued success, making him a worthwhile addition in most formats right now.
Justin Martinez, Filth. pic.twitter.com/LjVORa4Dhr
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 6, 2024
More Bullpen and Closer News
FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The Giants optioned Camilo Doval to Triple-A after his fifth blown save of the year. He's been dealing with poor control all season. The team says they want to keep Ryan Walker in his current role, leaving Jordan Hicks as the likely candidate for saves in San Francisco. Hicks was warming in the bullpen behind Doval earlier this week, and he is currently rostered in only 26% of leagues. He's SP eligible in most leagues where that's relevant, so he could be quite an asset going forward.
EDIT TO THE EDIT: The Giants have changed their mind about Ryan Walker and will indeed have him serve as closer. Manager Bob Melvin said he has a lot of good choices, but that Walker will close because he "really deserves it". He's rostered in 38% of leagues and should be picked up immediately in most.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers bullpen has been weird lately, but really, the Tigers bullpen has been kind of weird all season. Jason Foley still leads the team by far with 15 saves (next up has just four), but Tyler Holton, who was previously more of an opener than a closer, has climbed into that second-place spot with four saves. Shelby Miller has also mixed in. It's probably still going to be Foley with the most saves from now until the end of the season, but Holton could be a sneaky option in deeper leagues and is only rostered in 9% of leagues right now. He's also that rare (occasional) closer with SP eligibility in leagues where that's extra valuable.
Tyler Holton K'ing the Side. pic.twitter.com/MvawFa6RWe
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2024
Kansas City Royals
The Royals made some moves before the deadline to strengthen their bullpen, adding Hunter Harvey from the Nationals (EDIT: who is now unfortunately on the injured list) and Lucas Erceg from the A's. Closer James McArthur has six blown saves, a 5.20 ERA, and just 32 strikeouts in 45 innings. He's still seemingly part of the committee in KC but doesn't seem to be the outright closer anymore. Harvey and Erceg are definitely part of the party, with a slight nod going Harvey's way. For now, it's more of a wait-and-see thing, but Harvey has good upside and is currently only rostered in 44% of leagues.
EDIT: It should be mostly Erceg in KC now, as Harvey is on the injured list and McArthur is still struggling.
Lucas Erceg 🎯 pic.twitter.com/hfCfABAFD6
— 643Royals (@643royals) August 4, 2024
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Ben Joyce is still free in 57% of leagues! Go get him!
-Aroldis Chapman is 36 and just threw 105 mph. There's still hope for some of us!
-Carlos Estevez seems like he'll be as close to "the guy" as the Phillies have had in a while. It's probably still trending committee, but if you're picking one Phillies reliever, it should be him.
-Evan Phillips seems to be working his way somewhat back into favor in the Dodgers bullpen, but it's still likely to be Daniel Hudson getting most of the leverage work.
-Saves leader remains Ryan Helsley, with 36. He's followed by Emmanuel Clase at 33 and Kyle Finnegan at 30.
-The holds leaderboard is topped by Andrew Kittredge with 29, followed closely by Hunter Harvey and JoJo Romero with 28 each, and then Bryan Abreu with 27.
-Clay Holmes got some separation for his blown saves lead with nine. Next on the list are Ryan Pressly and Jalen Beeks with seven each, then six different pitchers have six of their own.
-Emmanuel Clase has a 0.69 ERA in 52 1/3 innings. He could be the first reliever in a while to get significant Cy Young attention (he won't win it, but still)
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