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<\/p>\nWith Opening Day 2026 on the horizon, it\u2019s moving season for relievers, though situations remain muddled for multiple teams. Before delving into the closer competitions or match-up-based approaches, here\u2019s a look at relievers who have seen their stock rise or fall since my last post.<\/p>\n
Stock upDaniel Palencia (CHC)<\/p>\n
During the three knockout games, including the World Baseball Classic championship game, Palencia recorded a 66.7 strike percentage (39 pitches, 26 strikes), with 12 whiffs (30.8 SwStr%), six strikeouts and zero walks (50 K-BB%), while retiring all 12 batters faced. Pure dominance on a big stage.<\/p>\n
Paul Sewald (ARI)<\/p>\n
Sewald has not flashed the velocity many teams crave at the backend of their bullpen, but his 86 career saves, including 29 with Arizona between 2023 and 2024, may make him the \u201cbridge\u201d option for saves until A.J. Puk returns.<\/p>\n
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Ryan Walker (SF)<\/p>\n
There was apprehension after he lost the closer role last year, but through his first seven spring outings, he\u2019s recorded seven strikeouts against zero walks (31.8 K-BB percentage) and allowed three hits in six innings (0.50 WHIP).<\/p>\n
Stock downCarlos Est\u00e9vez (KC)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough repeating as the saves leader, and it\u2019s even more challenging working with reduced velocity. Est\u00e9vez dealt with a back issue last spring and averaged 93.9 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball, according to Brooks Baseball, but ended the season with a 96.7 mph average on his four-seamer in September. This spring, his velocity is even lower<\/a>, though it ticked up to an average of 90.5 mph across his first two outings in March. However, he has not pitched since March 9. Combining this with his fly-ball tendencies and his home ballpark moving the fences in translates to migration toward the mean this season. Tread lightly.<\/p>\n Victor Vodnik (COL)<\/p>\n Vodnik finished with a flourish last year, converting eight of nine save chances between July 12 and September 21. This spring, he\u2019s allowed multiple hits in three of his five outings with Colorado and for Team Mexico in WBC contests, resulting in a 3.43 WHIP over 4.2 innings. It\u2019s less than optimal.<\/p>\n Robert Stephenson (LAA)<\/p>\n Honestly, I feel bad for the talented reliever. Stephenson was hoping to compete for the closer role to start the season, but he experienced a setback and may be sidelined for an extended period.<\/p>\n Leverage pathwaysHigh-leverage identifiers<\/p>\n Let\u2019s shift our focus to teams with potential committees or shared-save situations. Each team will be labeled with one of the following high-leverage pathway identifiers:<\/p>\n Mostly linear: This is a more traditional approach, with a manager preferring one reliever in the seventh inning, another in the eighth and a closer (when rested) in the ninth. There are shades of gray, but it usually follows a predictable pattern in high-leverage situations. Projected American Leauge leverage pathways<\/p>\n TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper\/HLRStealth\/Ancillary Option<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Ryan Helsley<\/p>\n Tyler Wells<\/p>\n Keegan Akin<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Aroldis Chapman<\/p>\n Garrett Whitlock<\/p>\n Greg Weissert<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez<\/p>\n Jordan Leasure<\/p>\n Grant Taylor<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Cade Smith<\/p>\n Shawn Armstrong<\/p>\n Colin Holderman<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Kenley Jansen<\/p>\n Kyle Finnegan<\/p>\n Will Vest<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Bryan Abreu<\/p>\n Bryan King<\/p>\n Kai-Wei Teng<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Carlos Est\u00e9vez<\/p>\n Lucas Erceg<\/p>\n Matt Strahm<\/p>\n In Flux<\/p>\n Kirby Yates<\/p>\n Jordan Romano<\/p>\n Drew Pomeranz<\/p>\n In Flux<\/p>\n Cole Sands<\/p>\n Taylor Rogers<\/p>\n Liam Hendriks<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n David Bednar<\/p>\n Camilo Doval<\/p>\n Fernando Cruz<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n Matt Brash<\/p>\n Jose A. Ferrer<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Griffin Jax<\/p>\n Garrett Cleavinger<\/p>\n Bryan Baker<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Robert Garcia<\/p>\n Chris Martin<\/p>\n Cole Winn<\/p>\n In Flux<\/p>\n Hogan Harris<\/p>\n Mark Leiter Jr.<\/p>\n Justin Sterner<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Jeff Hoffman<\/p>\n Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n Louis Varland<\/p>\n Situations of interest<\/p>\n Los Angeles Angels: After targeting veterans with closer experience, the team will decide between Kirby Yates, Jordan Romano or Drew Pomeranz as the primary save option, or have them share the late innings based on lineup lanes. Those who play in leagues with an injured list designation can try stashing Ben Joyce, who could become the closer by June for first-year manager Kurt Suzuki.<\/p>\n Minnesota Twins: This leverage ladder shifted appreciably after the trade deadline last season. Minnesota only converted eight saves by five different relievers, with only Justin Topa (four) recording more than one. Remember, this covered a two-month span. The team added its former closer, Taylor Rogers, and signed Liam Hendriks to a one-year deal. He\u2019s working with reduced velocity this spring, but may emerge as the primary save share if his command stabilizes.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Rays: Manager Kevin Cash confirmed there will be a matchups-based approach, though fantasy managers hope Griffin Jax can earn a primary share like Pete Fairbanks in 2023. However, for our purposes, the 2022 template aligns best with the current committee, when 11 different pitchers secured at least one of the team\u2019s 44 saves, with the following dispersal by the leaders:<\/p>\n Eight saves: Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks Something similar may not happen, but it could, which caps the upside for all.<\/p>\n Texas Rangers: Once again, the team went thrift shopping for leverage relievers and will open the year with co-closers: Robert Garcia and Chris Martin. Garcia has a 1.51 WHIP in save situations since 2023, per Baseball-Reference, while Martin enters his age-40 season with 16 career saves versus 119 holds.<\/p>\n The Athletics: Despite recording a 34-24 record (.586) from July 24 through the end of the 2025 season, the team only posted 10 saves after trading Mason Miller. Here are the relievers who secured a save, and the dates on which they occurred:<\/p>\n Hogan Harris (4 saves): Aug. 19 and 23, Sept. 16 and 18 A dark horse may be Elvis Alvarado, but patience will be required since he has command issues. Justin Sterner could also be in the mix early on, along with new additions Mark Leiter and Scott Barlow \u2014 Harris is the left-handed leverage option.<\/p>\n Projected National League leverage pathways<\/p>\n TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper\/HLRStealth\/Ancillary Option<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Paul Sewald<\/p>\n Kevin Ginkel<\/p>\n Ryan Thompson<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Raisel Iglesias<\/p>\n Robert Suarez<\/p>\n Dylan Lee<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Daniel Palencia<\/p>\n Hunter Harvey<\/p>\n Phil Maton<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Emilio Pag\u00e1n<\/p>\n Tony Santillan<\/p>\n Graham Ashcraft<\/p>\n In Flux<\/p>\n Victor Vodnik<\/p>\n Zach Agnos<\/p>\n Seth Halvorsen<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Edwin D\u00edaz<\/p>\n Tanner Scott<\/p>\n Alex Vesia<\/p>\n Primary Save Share<\/p>\n Pete Fairbanks<\/p>\n Calvin Faucher<\/p>\n Andrew Nardi<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Trevor Megill<\/p>\n Abner Uribe<\/p>\n Jared Koenig<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Devin Williams<\/p>\n Luke Weaver<\/p>\n Brooks Raley<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Jhoan Duran<\/p>\n Brad Keller<\/p>\n Jos\u00e9 Alvarado<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Dennis Santana<\/p>\n Gregory Soto<\/p>\n Justin Lawrence<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n JoJo Romero<\/p>\n Riley O’Brien<\/p>\n Matt Svanson<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Mason Miller<\/p>\n Jeremiah Estrada<\/p>\n Adrian Morejon<\/p>\n Mostly Linear<\/p>\n Ryan Walker<\/p>\n Jos\u00e9 Butt\u00f3<\/p>\n Erik Miller<\/p>\n Shared Saves<\/p>\n Clayton Beeter<\/p>\n Cole Henry<\/p>\n Cionel P\u00e9rez<\/p>\n Situations of interest<\/p>\n Arizona Diamondbacks: It may be more by default than merit, but Paul Sewald has emerged as the favorite for the primary save share. His competition, Kevin Ginkel, has a spring WHIP of 2.99 over his first 4.2 innings of work.<\/p>\n Colorado Rockies: Manager Warren Schaefer has intimated he will deploy a matchups-based approach, meaning save chances must be earned. Seth Halvorsen has intriguing velocity, but his command remains spotty. Zach Agnos may emerge as a dark horse based on his strong spring. But ballpark environment and wins may cap any intrigue for a Rockies reliever among fantasy managers.<\/p>\n Milwaukee Brewers: There would be zero controversy in this bullpen if Pat Murphy announced he was keeping the roles relievers he had last year. However, he did not, and he may try providing more rest for Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe, which wouldn\u2019t be ideal. One reliever could benefit from being named the closer. Are you feeling lucky?<\/p>\n St. Louis Cardinals: Three spots in the leverage pathway could not cover how many relievers Oli Marmol indicated could be in the mix for saves: Riley O\u2019Brien, JoJo Romero, Matt Svanson and Ryne Stanek. Will this be the case? It largely depends on health and performance this season. O\u2019Brien was one of 10 relievers with at least four saves last September, and he recorded a game finished in 10 games following the trade deadline. Romero converted eight of nine save opportunities after the trade deadline, leading the team. Svanson led all Cardinals\u2019 relievers in ERA after the All-Star break (1.13) and is 44-for-46 in professional save chances, including a perfect 33-for-33 with the St. Louis franchise \u2014 just none in the majors, yet.<\/p>\n Washington Nationals: Although the fantasy community has anointed Clayton Beeter as its preferred option for the primary save share, neither the team nor the new manager has confirmed it. Last year, Beeter was recalled on Aug. 5. He had one save, nine holds, a 2.49 ERA and a .116 opponents\u2019 batting average over 21.1 innings. Cole Henry, who\u2019s in the mix, recorded more saves (two) than Beeter in this same timeframe, but two of his final three appearances resulted in multiple runs allowed. Plus, the team added Drew Smith and Cionel P\u00e9rez as non-roster invitees who may break camp with the team, potentially leading to a committee approach early in the season.<\/p>\n Taking all of this into consideration means planning on saves will be a priority in many leagues. It does not mean overpaying will be required, but there\u2019s a cliff at the closer position until usage patterns become clearer. For our subscribers, the first posting of my tiered rankings for saves and SOLDS formats:<\/p>\n It will be a long season covering closers. Strap on some band-aids; it\u2019s a marathon, not a sprint.<\/p>\n Statistical Credits: Fangraphs.com, Baseball-Reference.com, BaseballSavant.com and BrooksBaseball.net. Check out my work at Reliever Recon<\/a> and Closer Monkey<\/a> for daily updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Opening Day 2026 on the horizon, it\u2019s moving season for relievers, though situations remain muddled for multiple…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,28,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-631793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-fantasy-baseball","14":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116256164969827643","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPrimary save share: The team prefers one reliever as the primary option for saves. However, the team might also use that reliever in matchup-based situations, as dictated by batter-handedness or batting order, especially in the late innings. This approach provides multiple relievers with save chances each series or week throughout the season.
\nShared saves: Typically, two relievers share save opportunities, often based on handedness, rest or recent usage patterns that help keep each player fresh. While these situations typically involve a primary and ancillary option, others may also be used. Some teams also prefer a matchup-based option, assigning pitchers a hitter\u2019s pocket for a series, which creates fluid save opportunities.
\nIn flux: The manager has not named a closer, and usage patterns regarding the leverage roles remain unclear.<\/p>\n
\nSeven saves: Colin Poche
\nSix saves: Brooks Raley
\nFive saves: Andrew Kittredge
\nThree saves: Ryan Thompson
\nTwo saves: Shawn Armstrong and Jalen Beeks<\/p>\n
\nSean Newcomb (2 saves): Aug. 16 and Sept. 12
\nMichael Kelly (2 saves): Sept. 14 and 19
\nTyler Ferguson (1 save): Aug. 20
\nOsvaldo Bido (1 save): Aug. 21<\/p>\n