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Ryan Kirksey's top fantasy baseball closers to stash and waiver wire pickups for Week 16 of 2025. His favorite relief pitchers to add for sneaky waiver wire saves.
The Major League Baseball All-Star break is a good time to take stock of what relievers are still sitting on your fantasy baseball league's waiver wire. Chances are, many closers are about to be traded in the next two weeks, and the direct backups are often free for the taking.
More and more national beat reporters are hearing rumors about which pitchers are available in trade, making those backups necessary pickups in the days ahead. Don't wait until pitchers get moved to try and battle others in FAAB for new closers. The smart move is to take advantage of these few days while other managers are taking a break and make some shrewd, cost-effective pickups.
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 Cade Smith (after an inevitable Emmanuel Clase trade).
Jason Adam, San Diego Padres (38% rostered)
The Robert Suarez-Jason Adam combo is about as consistent and predictable as it comes. Suarez leads baseball with 28 saves, and Adam has earned a hold in 23 of those. Suarez had three saves last week, and Adam got a hold in each one of them. Suarez has had some shaky moments this year, making Adam and his 1.70 ERA one of the best candidates to stash.
Jason Adam now has the 2nd best ERA (1.69) in all of Major League Baseball (min. 40 IP) pic.twitter.com/XbgxtriVgR
— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) June 29, 2025
Randy Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants (30% rostered)
The Giants show no signs of demoting Camilo Doval, as he has excelled lately. But if something should happen to him, it is likely Randy Rodriguez, and not the shaky Ryan Walker, that would get the ninth-inning call. Rodriguez still has an ERA under 1.00 and has a 35% strikeout rate this season.
Griffin Jax, Minnesota Twins (21% rostered)
Jhoan Duran is a likely trade candidate, making Griffin Jax a good stash candidate ahead of July 31. The Twins aren't winning the division and would need help with the wild card, so Duran is a good candidate to trade. Jax is still striking out 38% of batters and has 20 holds, so he is familiar with high-leverage situations.
Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros (31% rostered)
Bryan Abreu might be the most dominant non-closer in the game right now. He has been unhittable in the eighth inning, posting a 1.70 ERA with a 38% strikeout rate and a 97-mile-per-hour fastball. Josh Hader isn't going anywhere, of course, but Abreu can be a help in ERA and strikeouts even without getting the saves.
Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers (21% rostered)
No reliever has more than Abner Uribe's 26 holds this season. He did blow a save on Saturday, but that doesn't impact his standing since the only other reliable setup man for Milwaukee is lefty Jared Koenig, who strikes out just 22% of batters. If Trevor Megill gets injured, Uribe will be the next man up.
Luke Weaver, New York Yankees (34% rostered)
Devin Williams has righted the ship with a win and a save this week, so there doesn't seem to be any immediate need to go back to Luke Weaver in the ninth inning right now. But the Yankees will always want someone they trust in there, and should Williams go through another rough patch like early in the season, Weaver is the man they want closing out games.
Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians (10% rostered)
If I had to put money on one closer getting traded this month, it would be Clase. The Guardians have fallen out of the race, but Clase has too much pedigree and closing experience not to be coveted by other teams. Smith did blow a save on Sunday, but that was after he picked up three holds in five days prior to that.
Cade Smith entered the game with no outs and the bases loaded.
He struck out the next three batters to escape the jam 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bBQbrZCbGb
— MLB (@MLB) May 23, 2025
Matt Brash, Seattle Mariners (5% rostered)
Seattle is on a roll right now, and their dominant bullpen is a big part of the reason why. Andres Munoz has been incredible (1.50 ERA and 32% strikeout rate), but Matt Brash has been just as good. Brash has a 0.83 ERA and strikes out almost 10 batters per nine innings.
Seranthony Dominguez, Baltimore Orioles (6% rostered)
Baltimore is another team that has disappointed and will likely look to deal away some veterans for prospects in the coming weeks. That could benefit Dominguez if Felix Bautista is traded away. Dominguez already has a 32% strikeout rate, 12 holds, and two saves this season, and is the logical ninth-inning replacement.
Relievers With Closer Potential on Teams With Closer Uncertainty
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels (11% rostered)
Like the Braves, the Angels are surely showcasing Kenley Jansen right now, despite claims that they will be buyers at the trade deadline. Jansen has a save and a win in the last week, and is now up to 16 saves and a 24% strikeout rate this season. Once a mediocre starter, Detmers has emerged as a lethal bullpen option and is striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings in a setup role.
Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox (7% rostered)
The Red Sox are a tricky team to predict, as they claim they want to add pieces for a playoff run, but trading Rafael Devers suggests that they are content with developing their young players, given the likelihood of them making the playoffs. No one available has more postseason experience than Aroldis Chapman, so if he is moved, this likely becomes Whitlock's job.
Garrett Whitlock corner pic.twitter.com/cSBxN5VkKb
— Bobby (@welcomeMLB) July 13, 2025
Caleb Ferguson, Pittsburgh Pirates (0% rostered)
The Pirates are likely to shop both David Bednar and Dennis Santana, as their team isn't expected to make the playoffs again this season. If both are moved, what few saves are available could go to Caleb Ferguson and his 2.70 ERA and nine holds. A sneaky dark horse in this bullpen is Isaac Mattson and his 29% strikeout rate.
Orion Kerkering, Philadelphia Phillies (20% rostered)
Orion Kerkering is listed as a co-closer, but Matt Strahm continues to receive opportunities ahead of him. Jordan Romano has self-imploded again (7.29 ERA this season), so I like the idea of stashing Kerkering if something were to happen to Strahm in the last two months of the season.
Dylan Lee and Pierce Johnson, Atlanta Braves (9% and 1% rostered)
Raisel Iglesias had back-to-back saves this week, which is exactly what the Braves wanted to pump up his value ahead of July 31. Both Dylan Lee and Pierce Johnson have 27% strikeout rates, and their ERAs are within 0.1 of each other, both in the mid-2.00s. One or both of these guys should have the ninth inning soon for Atlanta.
Tommy Kahnle, Detroit Tigers (29% rostered)
Will Vest has had a shaky couple of weeks. That doesn't mean that Tommy Kahnle will take over the closer role like he did early in the season, but it's something to monitor. Kahnle has nine saves and 12 holds despite a 4.50 ERA, and Detroit may prefer him in high-leverage situations before the ninth inning.
Brad Keller, Chicago Cubs (4% rostered)
Drew Pomeranz got the hold on Sunday, but that was likely just because the Cubs needed a left-hander at that time of the game. Keller has 14 holds and a 23% strikeout rate behind closer Daniel Palencia. Keller is up to almost 97 miles per hour on the sinker this year and strikes out nine batters per nine innings.
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