Before providing the pertinent information from the high-leverage ecosystem, a heartfelt thanks for all the kind words and support throughout the season. This will be my last bullpen report for 2025.<\/p>\n
Daniel Palencia had a rough outing on Sept. 7, then left with the trainer and was placed on the injured list the next day with a shoulder strain<\/a>. In the first save chance since his designation, Andrew Kittredge secured his third save of the season, while Brad Keller worked the eighth inning against the top of the lineup. This signals a potential timeshare based on matchups, which will frustrate fantasy managers, but at least it\u2019s only two relievers, not the entire bullpen in the mix. Staying in the division, Trevor Megill could return on Sept. 16, which will restore order to the Brewers\u2019 bullpen.<\/p>\n Updating my focus point from last week, for those seeking saves down the stretch, I would avoid the following teams. It may be because of the fluidity of roles or performance, but it\u2019s best to let someone else try mining them:<\/p>\n Arizona Diamondbacks For the save or SOLDS seekers, here\u2019s a look at the updated leaderboards from Aug. 1 through games played on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n Leaderboards: Aug. 1 through Sept. 9<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Although the numbers for 2025 will shift before the end of the season, here is my updated save trends chart, through games played on Sept. 10, in comparison to the previous two seasons:<\/p>\n 3-Year Save Trends (2025 as of Sept. 10)<\/p>\n YearRPs: 1+ SVRPs: > 4 SVRPs: > 9 SVRPs: > 19 SVRPs: > 29 SVRPs: > 39 SV<\/p>\n 2025<\/p>\n 201<\/p>\n 48<\/p>\n 30<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n 0<\/p>\n 2024<\/p>\n 223<\/p>\n 53<\/p>\n 39<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 2023<\/p>\n 214<\/p>\n 53<\/p>\n 38<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n There is a stabilizing trend of relievers getting more than 19 saves, but fewer with more than 29, which may necessitate an adjustment by fantasy managers in 2026.<\/p>\n Team concepts of building a bullpen and how managers handle high-leverage events are also factors that fantasy managers cannot control. The teams to which pending free agents and potential opt-out candidates sign will significantly impact their fantasy ceilings in the upcoming season. Here is a chart illustrating relievers who may be available this winter:<\/p>\n Opt-outs or OptionsRPs with Closer Exp.RPs with CE, but…Set-up RPs (RH)Set-up RPs (LH)<\/p>\n Edwin D\u00edaz (NYM)<\/p>\n Ryan Helsley<\/p>\n Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez<\/p>\n Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n Justin Wilson<\/p>\n Robert Suarez (SD)<\/p>\n Devin Williams<\/p>\n Gregory Soto<\/p>\n Phil Maton<\/p>\n Caleb Thielbar<\/p>\n Pete Fairnbaks (TB)<\/p>\n Kenley Jansen<\/p>\n Shawn Armstrong<\/p>\n Rafael Montero<\/p>\n Caleb Ferguson<\/p>\n Luke Weaver<\/p>\n Taylor Rogers<\/p>\n Tommy Kahnle<\/p>\n Sean Newcomb<\/p>\n Emilio Pag\u00e1n<\/p>\n Kirby Yates<\/p>\n Chris Martin<\/p>\n Kyle Finnegan<\/p>\n As has been my tradition in this column, I present a way-too-early top 25 for 2026, which remains open for debate since some relievers\u2019 signing locations and roles for next year are unknown. For instance, Mason Miller could be the closer for San Diego if Robert Suarez opts out. Still, he could also be transitioned into a starting pitcher under the tutelage of Ruben Niebla, like Seth Lugo in 2023 and Michael King in 2024. For our purposes, I will rank Miller as a reliever, but it\u2019s far from guaranteed. I am also not listing Emmanuel Clase since his investigation remains active.<\/p>\n Too early top-25 closers for 2026Relievers of interest Thanks again for another great year with The Athletic. Stay safe, and best of luck in your leagues.<\/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 (Photo of Trevor Megill: Patrick McDermott \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before providing the pertinent information from the high-leverage ecosystem, a heartfelt thanks for all the kind words and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[21850,363,99],"class_list":["post-149610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-fantasy-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBaltimore Orioles
\nMiami Marlins
\nMinnesota Twins
\nThe Athletics<\/p>\n
\nDaniel Palencia (CHC)
\nRiley O\u2019Brien (STL)
\nBryan Abreu (HOU)
\nJordan Leasure (CHW)
\nZach Maxwell (CIN)
\nBryan Baker\/Edwin Uceta (TB)
\nVictor Vodnik (COL)<\/p>\n