Meanwhile, Emmanuel Clase and Devin Williams continue to falter
The Dodgers and Phillies have been fixtures in the Bullpen Report to this point, and I was tempted to include them again. But really, what’s there to say about them anymore?
Tanner Scott has recorded each of the Dodgers’ past five saves, all in the span of 10 days, and his biggest impediment, Blake Treinen, is on the IL with forearm issues. Meanwhile, Jose Alvarado has recorded five of the Phillies’ seven saves, working the ninth in eight of his 11 appearances, and his biggest impediment, Jordan Romano, just surrendered six runs to the Marlins in his latest appearance Saturday.
Seems like those closer situations are as clear as they are going to get, so here are 10 others that might be raising questions for you.
Note: “Pecking order” refers to rosterability in Fantasy and not necessarily who’s first in line for saves (though it’s usually one and the same).
Rarely are relief pitcher call-ups as highly anticipated as Craig Yoho’s, and though he allowed a run in his debut Monday, he also made heavy use of the changeup that’s generated so much buzz, often being compared to that of departed closer Devin Williams. The “future closer” label is understandable given that Yoho had a 0.94 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 15.8 K/9 across three minor-league stops last year (not to mention 15 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings this spring), but let’s not be so quick to turn the page on Trevor Megill, who was solid in the role last year and hasn’t done anything to remove himself from it this year.
If Megill were to lose his job tomorrow, the Brewers probably wouldn’t be so quick to anoint Yoho anyway, instead turning to someone like Abner Uribe. But I doubt Megill is losing his job tomorrow, which is why I consider Yoho to be the better choice to stash in leagues where such a move is viable.
David Bednar is back and … better than ever? We should at least be open to the idea given how thoroughly he dominated at Triple-A, allowing just one baserunner across five innings while striking out seven. He struck out two in his first inning back, the ninth of a 3-0 defeat Saturday, but he also scattered two hits, which means the jury’s still out as to whether his time at Triple-A changed anything. Manager Derek Shelton isn’t interested in naming a closer at the moment, but given that Dennis Santana, the top choice for saves during Bednar’s absence, is no great shakes, the optimal outcome for Fantasy would be for Bednar to reclaim the role.
That is unless Justin Lawrence is for real. The right-hander, who got some closing experience in a terrible situation with the Rockies, has put together a 0.84 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 11.8 K/9 in 10 appearances, with his sweeper getting an additional couple inches of movement outside of the thin air of Coors Field. Consider him a dark horse to close if Bednar doesn’t pan out.
Few bullpens have been as difficult to figure out as the Marlins so far, and while you might say it hardly matters given that they’re not much good and neither are the candidates, it actually does in leagues where saves are scarce. Jesus Tinoco, who notably served as their closer at the very end of 2024 (just long enough to get three saves, basically) has gotten each of their last two in 2025, coming Sunday and Monday. Sunday’s came in the 10th inning after Calvin Faucher had worked a scoreless ninth, which is to say that Faucher was actually used in the spot where a closer normally would be. But Tinoco followed up that appearance with a more conventional ninth-inning save Monday.
I suspect Monday’s save was partly because he was more rested, having thrown roughly half as many pitches as Faucher the day before, but rookie manager Clayton McCullough has shown no consistency with his bullpen usage so far, making it difficult to think along with him. I’m presuming Faucher is still the favorite because he was the favorite coming into the year and has worked the ninth in each of his past three appearances, including once for a save, but I say that with no real conviction.
Manager Terry Francona has more than once said that his ideal would be to return Alexis Diaz to the closer role, but the 28-year-old just isn’t allowing for it. After an uninspiring stint at Triple-A, where he purportedly corrected some mechanical issue but in a way that the numbers couldn’t really confirm, he’s come back looking as shaky as ever, having walked five in four innings and most recently allowed three earned runs Monday at the Marlins.
Emilio Pagan, meanwhile, has already converted four save opportunities, though he did recently blow one by serving up two home runs. His vulnerability to the long ball is why he has generally delivered an ERA in the mid-fours and also why I’m skeptical he can last in the closer role. If it isn’t Diaz who overtakes him, it’ll most likely be Tony Santillan, who Francona has suggested is actually the team’s best reliever.
Cade Smith got his first save Monday, which is less an indication of the Guardians losing faith in Emmanuel Clase than simply not having him available for the contest. He had just worked the previous three days, after all, with the latest of those outings requiring 30 pitches. Still, if you have Clase in Fantasy, you’re probably eager to back him up given how poorly he’s pitched so far, and while Hunter Gaddis has been the Guardians’ eighth-inning guy, Smith’s save would seem to confirm that he’s next in line to close, should the need arise.
To be clear, though, I don’t think the need will arise. Clase’s stuff isn’t diminished, and that stuff is responsible for one of the all-time great four-year closer runs. Reports suggest his struggles are more a matter of location. Specifically, he’s been leaking his cutter over the plate and not creating enough separation with his slider, but those are issues he can work through. Notably, he had a similar stretch of struggles early in 2023, which is the one year during that four-year run where he didn’t have an ERA below 1.50 and managed to turn things around after a span of 10 rocky appearances. If you’re the jumpy sort, go ahead and back him up with Smith, but I imagine your confidence in Clase will be restored soon enough.
The consensus RP2 on Draft Day has struggled even more than the consensus RP1, and there’s also more reason for alarm in Devin Williams’ case than Clase’s. For one thing, his fastball is actually down 1 mph, which isn’t so significant of a drop to suggest something is wrong physically but will give him a lower margin for error if it continues. For another thing, he’s with a different organization now, and the Yankees aren’t as practiced at diagnosing his little missteps as the Brewers were. Presumably, Luke Weaver would be the next in line to close after proving effective in the role during the Yankees’ playoff run last year, but manager Aaron Boone seems committed to seeing Williams through. And given his track record, that’s probably the right move, as frustrating as it may be now.
Right-hander Justin Martinez and left-hander A.J. Puk had been sharing the closer role early on, but Puk’s elbow injury gives Martinez a chance to solidify the role for himself. The severity of the injury is still unknown, but recoveries from elbow injuries are often less than straightforward no matter how mild they seem at first. Meanwhile, Martinez has been absolute nails so far, issuing just one walk while recording 10 strikeouts in seven innings. If he continues to keep the walks at bay, he has a chance to emerge as an ace reliever. For what it’s worth, Shelby Miller is probably next in line for saves now. He’s been exceptional as well, picking up some velocity on his fastball from a year ago.
Just when you were beginning to get comfortable with the idea of Tommy Kahnle as the Tigers closer, in comes Will Vest to complicate things. Manager A.J. Hinch has never been one for bullpen clarity, and now that he’s given back-to-back saves to Vest, I’m beginning to wonder if his resolve for Kahnle is weakening. Kahnle didn’t really do anything to deserve it, but that’s never much mattered to Hinch.
Now, you could explain away the two saves for Vest by pointing out that the first came after Kahnle had worked back-to-back days and the second after Kahnle had worked three of four, but notably, Kahnle’s latest appearance, which came on the day in between Vest’s two saves, was in the eighth inning rather than the ninth. I presume he’s still the top choice for the ninth, and once he’s rested up, it’ll be made clear again, but Vest has been good enough to make it a battle if Hinch wants one.
For the first time since opening day, manager Alex Cora brought in Aroldis Chapman to work the eighth inning of a game rather than the ninth Monday, and just like on opening day, Justin Slaten followed him for a save. What else do those two games have in common? The opposition’s top hitter was due up in the eighth. In the case of opening day, it was Corey Seager for the Rangers (a left-hander). In the case of Monday, it was Luis Robert for the White Sox (a right-hander, but really, he’s their only true offensive threat). It’s pretty clearly a leverage thing. There are times when Cora views the eighth inning as more pivotal than the ninth, and he’s said as much. But he doesn’t go overboard with it, so I think you can trust Chapman to remain the easy choice for saves and continue to ignore Slaten on the waiver wire.
Camilo Doval recorded his third save Monday, which is only two fewer than Ryan Walker, the alleged closer. And seeing as Walker just had an ugly blown save Sunday, allowing four earned runs, and Doval has ample closing experience himself, this might raise a red flag for you. It really shouldn’t, though. Walker had been near perfect prior to Sunday and has exclusively worked the ninth inning this season. The only reason Doval is already up to three saves is because the Giants keep having save chances when Walker is unavailable, having already worked on back-to-back days. It’s nice to know who the backup plan is should something happen to Walker, but there’s no reason to suspect anything has happened to Walker yet.
