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David's closers and saves fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and bullpen report for Week 5 (2025). His relief pitcher updates, and closers to add for saves.
It's an interesting part of baseball season: Spring break is over, and we're almost a month in, but "on pace for" stats are still pretty fun to play around with. Injuries are striking bullpens, rotations, and lineups around the league, and guys we've always trusted and relied on are suddenly untrustworthy and unreliable.
Bullpen shakeups happen all season long, but keeping an eye on things while it's still early can make a huge difference in all formats. Guys like Luke Jackson, Felix Bautista, and Jordan Romano, who all had huge question marks coming in, are starting to give some pretty definite answers to those questions with a period at the end. Other guys, like Camilo Doval and Tommy Kahnle, may have exclamation points now instead of question marks.
Let's dive into this week's report! As always, stay tapped in with our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens. They will be updated frequently throughout the 2025 baseball season as news breaks.
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Waiver Wire Pickups For Standard Leagues
Luke Jackson, Texas Rangers (Rostered in 61% of leagues)
For the third week in a row, the Rangers' closer makes it on this list. He's fully entrenched as the saves guy in Texas, and he's off to a strong start. He's saved seven games in eight chances (his only blown save came after a rough error behind him) and holds a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings pitched.
Jackson's strikeout numbers are down (16.7 K percentage despite a career mark of 24.2 percent), but he's also walking fewer batters (5.6 BB percent this year compared to a 9.9 percent career mark). He's not helping a ton with ratios right now, but he's racking up the saves and there's definitely strikeout upside that he's shown in the past. Pick up Jackson so he can get off this list by next week!
Fun note that I hadn't realized until this week: This is Jackson's second tenure with the Rangers. His first was so long ago that he once gave up a home run to Mark Teixeira. Proof:
Mark Teixeira (5)
Opponent: Texas Rangers
Pitcher: Luke Jackson
Date: 6/27/16 pic.twitter.com/7XHM8ew4aq— Yankees Home Runs (@NYY_HR) January 4, 2024
— Yankees Home Runs (@NYY_HR) January 4, 2024
Tommy Kahnle, Detroit Tigers (Rostered in 33% of leagues)
Will Vest, Detroit Tigers (Rostered in 8% of leagues)
The Tigers are deploying changeup king Tommy Kahnle as their high-leverage reliever, which means he'll get most of the saves for Detroit, but will sometimes be called upon in an earlier inning as a fireman reliever. When that happens, it'll be Will Vest stepping on the mound for the ninth inning.
Kahnle (four) and Vest (two) are the only relievers on the Tigers with regular saves (Brant Hurter also has two, but they were both three-inning saves). Kahnle and Vest have both been excellent, with ERAs under 1.00 for each pitcher. Kahnle remains the more valuable fantasy asset, of course, but Vest provides strong ratios and should continue to see himself in save situations based on Kahnle's usage.
Will Vest's 2Ks in the 9th. 🪄 pic.twitter.com/2jQGTfY5FW
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 23, 2025
Emilio Pagan, Cincinnati Reds (Rostered in 36% of leagues)
Emilio Pagan has come out hot this season, pitching 11 1/3 IP, saving five games, putting up a 0.44 WHIP, and posting a 9:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was recommended here last week and yet dropped from 38 percent rostered to 36 percent. Some of that was likely due to the return of Alexis Diaz, but Pagan has solidified his role while Diaz has struggled in his first four IP after struggling during his rehab assignment as well.
It's Pagan's job in Cincinnati, and he's doing it well. Still available in almost two-thirds of fantasy leagues, he should absolutely be rostered in saves-only leagues and has plenty of value in save + hold leagues right now as well. It's been Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft in other significant innings recently, with not even a whisper of Diaz coming back to take any of those roles.
Your new 2025 #Reds SVs leader:
EMILIOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/jHS5mj3fGl
— Reds in Four (@RedsInFour) March 29, 2025
Camilo Doval, San Francisco Giants (Rostered in 22% of leagues)
Ryan Walker was the closer for the Giants when the season began, but he's been struggling this season, and Camilo Doval has clearly established himself as the next man up. Doval has five saves, the same as Walker, but Doval's 2.25 ERA certainly looks nicer than Walker's 7.27. This week, Walker was removed from an outing that wasn't a save chance, but he came into a 4-0 lead and allowed three hits and two runs while getting just one out after throwing 22 pitches. Doval came to the rescue in that game, earning the save by getting a strikeout and a game-ending grounder.
The next day, Doval came in as a traditional closer, entering the ninth inning with a one-run lead, and he locked it down for his fifth save. While San Francisco hasn't announced an official move (manager Bob Melvin said that Walker was still the closer but...come on, man), the writing seems to be on the wall that Doval could start seeing, at the very least, some of Walker's chances. He's rostered in just 22 percent of leagues right now and has 97 career saves to fall back on.
Camilo Doval slider pic.twitter.com/UoocoVOfKd
— Bobby (@welcomeMLB) April 24, 2025
Waiver Wire Pickups For Deeper Leagues
Porter Hodge, Chicago Cubs (Rostered in 13% of leagues)
Porter Hodge had one awful outing this season. How bad? His current ERA is 5.68, but if you removed that outing, it would be 1.42. Hodge allowed six runs while only getting two outs on April 18, but has allowed only two runs total in all of his other outings combined. Cubs closer Ryan Pressly has settled in a bit after a rough start, but he had to get his knee drained and was unavailable earlier this week.
With Pressly unavailable, Hodge earned his first save of the season, pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Dodgers to lock down a Cubs win. Hodge is clearly the next guy up, and with Pressly's health remaining a concern (and his 5:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio maybe an even bigger concern), Hodge could be a legitimate mixed-league option before long.
Porter Hodge is just an absolute demon. pic.twitter.com/xS8vAwJ1He
— Todd (@bleacherbum099) April 24, 2025
Dennis Santana, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 18% of leagues)
David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates (Rostered in 40% of leagues)
David Bednar got off to an atrocious start this season, but a demotion to Triple-A seems to have fixed things. He threw five scoreless IP for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians without allowing a walk, and since being called back up, he's put up three scoreless outings with five strikeouts in three IP.
For now, Dennis Santana remains the team's closer, but Bednar has already worked his way back to the top setup role, and there's not much about Santana (4.46 xERA, 16.7 K percentage) that pops off the stat page despite a nice 1.59 ERA for now. Another issue, of course, is the team these guys play on. The Pirates might not get a ton of save chances, and if Bednar and Santana are splitting the few chances that come up, it's hard to see tons of value there.
David Bednar goes 1-2-3 in the 7th with 2 strikeouts
Yeah, that's the Bednar I know and love pic.twitter.com/imGY8ZewKo
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) April 24, 2025
Seth Halvorsen, Colorado Rockies (Rostered in 8% of leagues)
Tyler Kinley, Colorado Rockies (Rostered in 1% of leagues)
Jake Bird, Colorado Rockies (Rostered in 0% of leagues)
The best advice regarding the Rockies' bullpen is: Don't roster a Rockies reliever. But if you absolutely must, for some reason, these are your options. With Victor Vodnik placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, it's a little less crowded at the back end. Seth Halvorsen still seems to be the favorite, but Tyler Kinley should start mixing in. Vodnik, Halvorsen, and Kinley have one save each, for the three saves the Rockies have earned.
Bird has been the most impressive, posting a 1.23 ERA and a 31.6 K percentage, although that comes with a somewhat concerning 15 BB percentage. If you're going for ratios and maybe an occasional save, Bird might be the word. If it's just the saves you want, maybe flip a coin with Halvorsen on one side and Kinley on the other. If it's sanity you're searching for, then once again: Don't roster a Rockies reliever.
Jordan Leasure, Chicago White Sox (Rostered in 0% of leagues)
It happened! The 2025 Chicago White Sox have recorded a save! It took until April 24 for a White Sox pitcher to earn a save, and they did it while ending a 14-game losing streak in Minnesota (in a game that ended after just seven innings due to rain). A lot had to go right for *checks notes* Brandon Eisert to earn the first save of his career.
Jordan Leasure pitched the inning before him, but he still seems to be the one in the "closer's role" for the Sox, at least at the top of the committee. Eisert and Cam Booser could sneak into the ninth inning as well, especially in games where Leasure is brought on earlier as a fireman. The whole team could combine for fewer than 10 saves this season, but there seems to be solid enough odds that Leasure will lead the team, maybe with a single-digit total. This is for the deepest of deep leagues, but Leasure has shown impressive stuff and at least seems to be in the highest leverage role.
Jordan Leasure you are a BAAAD MAN!
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) April 19, 2025
Jesus Tinoco, Miami Marlins (Rostered in 3% of leagues)
Calvin Faucher, Miami Marlins (Rostered in 8% of leagues)
The Marlins are...kind of good, actually? Maybe? Calvin Faucher was expected to be the outright closer heading into the season, but he got off to a slow start, and the Marlins have been working as more of a committee in the ninth inning. With a rookie manager, Clayton McCullough, at the helm, we're not entirely sure whether he prefers a committee or a set closer. The Marlins have five saves so far; Faucher and Tinoco have two saves each, with Anthony Bender having one of his own.
Neither of the three has been particularly impressive, but with the Marlins playing decent baseball, they could have a guy locking down wins more often than many expected them to. Currently, it seems that Faucher could be the best bet, as he entered the year as the leading candidate and has shown improvement lately.
Calvin Faucher Breakout:
- New Sinker🎳
- Super Supinator (3 Power Breaking Balls!) ⚡️
- Making the Most of Count Leverage☑️Big fan of Faucher since his inclusion in the Nelson Cruz Deal.
Always had elite stuff, now its about count leverage, in-zone%, and usage.
New SI: pic.twitter.com/kBlEacmI7Z
— Remi Bunikiewicz (@RBunikiewicz) April 22, 2025
Short Relief: More Bullpen Notes
Arizona Diamondbacks
The DBacks had a worrying few days, with A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez both dealing with injuries. Puk ended up on the injured list with an elbow injury and will be out for a while. Luckily, Martinez only had to miss a few days with his shoulder injury and is back on the mound. He'll be the primary closer as long as he's healthy, but with the injury concerns around, Arizona could use Shelby Miller (four percent rostered) and Jalen Beeks (one percent rostered- but left Thursday's game with an injury, so stand by) for saves now and then as well.
On Thursday night, the Diamondbacks "decided as a staff" that Martinez was unavailable for the ninth inning. We're not sure what that means, but...it doesn't sound great, right?
New York Mets
Mets closer Edwin Diaz exited the 10th inning of a game this week due to cramps in his hip. Diaz himself said he was not concerned about it, but his manager's quote, “We’ll see what we got,” felt a little less confident. He's day-to-day for now, but certainly something to keep an eye on. If Diaz ends up missing time, the Mets will likely turn to a mix of A.J. Minter (eight percent rostered) and Jose Butto (two percent rostered). Minter would be an immediate add if Diaz goes on the injured list.
Cleveland Guardians
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase allowed five earned runs in all of 2024. He's already allowed nine of those in just 10 1/3 IP of 2025. The team seems not to be *too* worried, but he did get two straight days off earlier this week in situations when he would likely have pitched. Still, his 7.84 ERA stands out over his 3.89 xERA and 3.70 FIP, so there's likely some positive regression coming. Just in case, Cade Smith (35 percent rostered) and Hunter Gaddis (16 percent rostered) would be next in line and would both be enormous adds in all formats.
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