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Ryan Kirksey's top fantasy baseball closers to stash and waiver wire pickups for Week 15 of 2025. His favorite relief pitchers to add for sneaky waiver wire saves.
When this piece is published, we will be about three weeks from the Major League Baseball trade deadline. That date has massive implications for fantasy baseball, and perhaps the MOST fantasy implications for closers who are traded. Where traded closers end up matters a great deal to their rest of their season value.
In the past week, beat reporters and national baseball writers have mentioned the following names as trade candidates: Emmanuel Clase, David Bednar, Kenley Jansen, Jhoan Duran, and Raisel Iglesias. If all of these names are traded, is it likely they all end up on new teams in the same closer role? Almost certainly not.
If you are hunting for saves, then consider stashing some top relievers who currently aren't their team's top option in the ninth inning. In this article, I'll provide some of the top player options to stash, which are widely available in Yahoo leagues. To stay up to date with all the latest developments in the world of relief pitching, be sure to check out our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens.
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Fantasy Baseball Closer Handcuffs
In this section, I'll highlight some of the established setup men who are the clear backup to an established, firmly entrenched closer on their team. These teams have absolute clarity for now, but each of these pitchers is just an injury or a sudden cold streak away from being promoted to the closer role. From this group, I believe the one closest to gaining a closer job right now is Hunter Gaddis (post-trade deadline).
Jason Adam, San Diego Padres (38% rostered)
Robert Suarez seems to have righted the ship after some rocky appearances, and now has 25 saves and a 26% strikeout rate this season. Adam is one of the league leaders in holds with 20 this year, and has a sparkling 1.61 ERA and 28% strikeout rate. The Padres are not likely to be sellers, so Adam would need a Suarez injury to gain the ninth inning.
Randy Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants (30% rostered)
There is no reliever in baseball that can match Randy Rodriguez's combination of 0.69 ERA and 37% strikeout rate. He has 12 holds and one save this season, so we know he can handle high-leverage situations, but Camilo Doval seems to have a lock on it right now.
Griffin Jax, Minnesota Twins (21% rostered)
If the Twins become sellers this month, they would have Griffin Jax and his 38% strikeout rate ready to take over the closer duties if Duran gets traded. Jax has no saves this season, but chipped in 10 last year during a period when Duran was injured.
Griffin Jax, Vicious 3227 RPM Sweeper. 😤 pic.twitter.com/UpM1xamwXC
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 26, 2025
Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros (31% rostered)
There is a strong case to be made that Bryan Abreu is the best eighth-inning man in the league right now. He has been unhittable since giving up a walk-off home run to Nick Kurtz four weeks ago. He has 22 holds, a 1.52 ERA, and almost a 38% strikeout rate this season.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers (21% rostered)
Abner Uribe now leads Major League Baseball in holds with 25 as he continues to set the table for closer Trevor Megill. Uribe strikes out more than a third of the batters he faces, has a 2.09 ERA, and now has his fastball up to 99.5 miles per hour this season.
Luke Weaver, New York Yankees (34% rostered)
Luke Weaver was, of course, the New York Yankees' closer for a period of time while Devin Williams worked some struggles out in the early part of the 2025 season. He now has eight saves and seven holds this season, and still carries a better ERA and velocity than Williams. If Williams were to go down, we have proof that Luke Weaver can handle the ninth inning.
Hunter Gaddis, Cleveland Guardians (10% rostered)
With Cade Smith's injury scare and then his loss on Sunday. Hunter Gaddis might have slipped past Smith for the favorite for saves in Cleveland if Emmanuel Clase is traded. Gaddis doesn't strike out as many batters as Smith, but his 27% rate is nothing to sneeze at. Clase and Smith have combined for two blown saves and a loss last week, while Gaddis was perfect.
After a miserable month and a half from mid May through June, Hunter Gaddis has started July with 5.1 perfect innings and 3Ks.
That’s more like the guy we know #GuardsBall
— CLEology (@_CLEology) July 6, 2025
Matt Brash, Seattle Mariners (5% rostered)
Matt Brash has nine holds and a save in his 19 innings pitched so far this season. His 0.47 ERA is better than Andres Munoz's, and he carries a strong 26% strikeout rate. Seattle is competing, so it's unlikely that Munoz is traded, but Brash is the man who would step up and has claimed the eighth inning from all Seattle relievers.
Seranthony Dominguez, Baltimore Orioles (6% rostered)
After Felix Bautista pitched two days in a row over the weekend, Seranthony Dominguez stepped up with a save on Sunday, his second of the year. With Bautista and Dominguez, the Orioles are blessed with two relievers who have a strikeout rate north of 32% and ERAs under 3.30. Bautista is another candidate to be traded as the Orioles continue to fail in making up ground in the AL East.
Relievers With Closer Potential on Teams With Closer Uncertainty
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels (11% rostered)
The Los Angeles Angels have gone into a free fall lately and haven't had a recorded save over the last week. If that increases the chances that Jansen is traded, it means a greater chance Reid Detmers finds his way into saves. Now fully moved to relief, Detmers has a 30% strikeout rate and six holds for the Angels.
Reid Detmers last 22 appearances:
22 IP
31 K
0.00 ERA
.187 BAA
36.5% K percentage pic.twitter.com/MU0bpsp7l6— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) July 8, 2025
Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox (7% rostered)
With how well Toronto is playing, and with the Yankees being the Yankees, it looks less and less likely that Boston will be able to make up much ground in the AL East. If they trade Aroldis Chapman, who is having a career resurgence with a 1.25 ERA and 39% strikeout rate, Garrett Whitlock is the eighth-inning man who has eight holds and a 29% strikeout rate.
Caleb Ferguson, Pittsburgh Pirates (0% rostered)
Both Bednar and Dennis Santana are the subject of trade rumors this month, which would leave the Pittsburgh relief corps pretty bare for the (potentially few) wins still to come the rest of this season. Caleb Ferguson would likely take the role and deploy his 2.79 ERA and high-leverage experience (nine holds).
Orion Kerkering, Philadelphia Phillies (20% rostered)
The Phillies keep the revolving door open at closer with Jose Alvarado suspended. Orion Kerkering has the fewest saves out of him, Matt Strahm, and Jordan Romano, but I prefer Kerkering's 2.34 ERA and 15 total saves plus holds as the pitcher most trustworthy in the ninth inning.
Dylan Lee, Atlanta Braves (11% rostered)
The Atlanta Braves don't have a save in at least a week, which makes this bullpen hard to predict. They are supposedly in a closer-by-committee situation right now, but I am sure they would trade Iglesias and his 4.81 ERA for just about anything right now if a contender came calling. At a 27.5% strikeout rate, Dylan Lee is tied for the highest mark in the Braves' bullpen.
Tommy Kahnle, Detroit Tigers (29% rostered)
Tommy Kahnle has a save and a hold in the last week as the Tigers continue to use him where he is most needed late in games. Typically, Will Vest is the closer, but Kahnle has nine saves and 12 holds this year and would likely take over the whole role if Vest were to get injured.
Brad Keller, Chicago Cubs (4% rostered)
Ryan Pressly getting two holds in the last week complicates the Chicago bullpen somewhat. Daniel Palencia is still the ninth-inning guy, but Pressly and Keller both have two holds in the previous week. Pressly's strikeouts have really fallen off this season, so give me the reliever with a 23% strikeout rate as my backup plan for the Cubs.
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