Closers and Saves Report - Week 8 Waiver Wire

The first few weeks of this baseball season (and even a couple of weeks leading up to Opening Day) were absolutely littered with bullpen news and notes. It seemed like almost every single day, some team was tinkering with its bullpen, or some closer was getting hurt, or some previously well-established closer was slumping while […]

Jakob Junis Struggles In Spot Start

Kansas City Royals pitcher Jakob Junis was given a spot start in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. He struggled in the outing, lasting just 1 1/3 innings and allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out one. Junis started off the year strong and pitched his way […]

Josh Staumont Closes Out Game 1 On Friday

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Josh Staumont closed out the team's 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader. He pitched the ninth inning, allowing one walk and no hits while recording one strikeout. Staumont has received the last three saves for the Royals, though none of them have come […]

Mark Melancon Picks Up 13th Save

San Diego Padres closer Mark Melancon picked up his MLB leading 13th save of the season on Friday, closing out the Padres' 5-4 win over the Cardinals. Melancon worked the ninth inning allowing one hit, a solo home run to Nolan Arenado, and striking out one. It wasn't the most dominant of outings, but Melancon […]

Jonathan Loaisiga Picks Up Second Save

New York Yankees relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga notched his second save of the season in Friday's 5-4 win over the Orioles. Loaisiga entered the game in the ninth with a one-run lead and made it looked easy, needing just six pitches to shut the door on the Orioles. The 26-year-old doesn't figure to see many […]

Liam Hendriks Picks Up Eighth Save

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks pitched for the third day in a row and recorded his eighth save of the season in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader versus the Kansas City Royals. Hendriks has been an ironman for manager Tony La Russa and allowed a single in an otherwise perfect inning. Hendriks has now […]

Michael Kopech Continues To Impress

Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech performed well in his third start of the season in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader versus the Kansas City Royals. Kopech went four innings and allowed two hits, one run, two walks and struck out five on the evening. Kopech has now made all three of his starts in […]

Matt Barnes Locks Down The Save Friday

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Matt Barnes struck out the side Friday against the Angels to collect his ninth save of the season. Barnes has been sensational to start the year, with a 1.89 ERA, .47 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts in just 19 innings. At this rate, Barnes could soon move into the conversation to […]

Jose Abreu Tests Negative For A Concussion

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (face) tested negative for a concussion. The veteran left Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals on Friday after colliding with Hunter Dozier. Although he suffered a contusion and laceration to his face, as well as a bruised left knee, he didn't appear to suffer […]

Craig Kimbrel K's The Side For Seventh Save

Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel continued his impressive season by recording his seventh save of the season on Friday versus the Detroit Tigers. Kimbrel worked a perfect 1-2-3 inning and struck out all three batters that faced. The upcoming free agent and potential trade candidate has looked like his vintage self this season. He now […]

David Price Getting Close To Being Activated

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price (hamstring) says that he feels he is getting close to returning to the team, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Price said that his hamstring feels like it's ready to go and he's "checked off all the boxes" for his return, and now he's just waiting to hear […]

Drew Pomeranz Placed On IL Thursday

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Drew Pomeranz (lat) was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 10 with lat tightness, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Pomeranz has been off to a good start this season, posting a 1.98 ERA and 35.7 percent strikeout rate with five holds in 14 appearances this season. […]

Kenley Jansen Spotless In May

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen will head into the weekend with five straight appearances without giving up an earned run. Jansen has allowed only one hit during that stretch and, for the season, is holding opponents to a .089 average. The veteran closer is 6-of-8 in save chances this season but control has been […]

Diego Castillo Reinstated From Injured List Friday

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Diego Castillo (groin) was activated from the injured list on Friday, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Castillo has been sidelined with right groin tightness since May 5, but it looks like he only needed a minimal stint on the injured list before he could return to […]

Bryan Shaw Earns Save Thursday

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Bryan Shaw earned his first save of the season in Thursday night's 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Shaw was called upon in the ninth inning with two outs after Emmanuel Clase had walked three batters and promptly ended the inning with a strikeout. Fantasy players should not read too much […]

The Baller Ranks: Weekly Top 101 Relief Pitcher Rankings

We're cruising through May and yet there are still so many uncertain, fluid bullpens to peruse in my 2021 Relief Pitcher Baller Ranks, which provides a weekly peek at my top 101 relievers moving forward. It's finally time to ramp it up to true 101 Dalmatians form. This is geared towards traditional 5x5 roto leagues […]

Fantasy Baseball Trade Targets for Week 7

Sometimes fantasy baseball can resemble the stock market. You want the best portfolio of players without having to pay too much for them. Sometimes to achieve the optimal team, you need to make trades. The best way to gain added value is to trade away an over-performing player for one in a rut. This way, […]

William Smith Bombed By Blue Jays

Atlanta Braves pitcher William Smith was crushed by Toronto Blue Jays hitters in the ninth inning of Thursday's game, which led to an 8-4 loss. The veteran closer allowed four runs on five hits in just one-third of an inning. Prior to this game, Smith had not allowed a run in his last six appearances. […]

Garrett Whitlock Locks Down Three-Inning Save

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock took over for Garrett Richards to start the seventh inning Thursday, and pitched the final three innings to pick up an unconventional save. It was his first of the season. All told, he allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out two. Whitlock has […]

Tyler Rogers Earns Third Save Of Season Thursday

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers picked up his third save of the season in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Pirates. Rogers entered the game in the ninth inning up by two and allowed no runs on a single and no walks with no strikeouts. Manager Gabe Kapler was planning to give closer Jake […]

Liam Hendriks Earns Seventh Save

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks picked up his seventh save of the season versus the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Hendriks was called upon in the top of the eighth inning with two runners on with one out and got the White Sox out of a big jam to maintain a 3-2 lead at the […]

Gregory Soto Fails To Close Out Thursday's Game

Detroit Tigers closer Gregory Soto was called upon to record the save in Thursday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals. However, he was unable to get the job done, allowing two hits, a walk and two earned runs while recording just one out. He was pulled from the game and Michael Fulmer took over […]

Michael Fulmer Records Second Save On Thursday

Detroit Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer closed out the team's 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday to earn his second save of the year. The team's primary closer Gregory Soto initially came in to close things out in the ninth but couldn't get things done. Fulmer took over after Soto allowed two hits, […]

Andres Munoz Restarts Throwing Program

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andres Munoz (elbow) has restarted a throwing program. Munoz is recovering from Tommy John surgery and has not pitched in a game since Sept. 15 of the 2019 season. It is expected that the flame-throwing right-hander won't appear in the majors before August or September, at the earliest, as Seattle wants to […]

Ryan Yarbrough Strikes Out Four On Wednesday

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough struck out four batters in 3 1/3 scoreless innings of work against the Yankees on Wednesday. In his second appearance against the Yankees this season, Yarbrough limited them to just two hits once again, as he has allowed just one run on four hits and two walks with eight […]

Rafael Dolis, Anthony Castro Set For Bullpen Sessions

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Rafael Dolis (calf) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Friday. Reliever Anthony Castro (forearm) is hoping to throw a bullpen this weekend, but he still has some tightness in his forearm. Dolis landed on the 10-day injured list four days ago with a right calf strain, and there […]

Julian Merryweather, Patrick Murphy Progressing

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Julian Merryweather (oblique) has been playing loss toss, while reliever Patrick Murphy (shoulder) threw an 18-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday and will throw again later this week. Murphy is on the 60-day injured list with a sprained AC joint. Relief pitcher David Phelps (lat) is still waiting for the MRI […]

Hunter Harvey On The Verge Of Simulated Games

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Hunter Harvey (oblique) is working out and throwing in Sarasota, Fla., and he's on the verge of throwing in simulated games. Harvey landed on the 60-day injured list with a strained left oblique back in March, so he has yet to pitch this season. The 26-year-old right-handed reliever could return by […]

Yimi Garcia Collects His Sixth Save

Miami Marlins closer Yimi Garcia picked up his sixth save of the season on Wednesday. Garcia came in to protect a 3-2 lead and pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and recording a strikeout. Garcia and the Marlins were saved by a nice play from first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who caught a well-hit line […]

Michael Kopech Will Start Game 2 Of Doubleheader On Friday

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa announced on Thursday that pitcher Michael Kopech will draw his third start of the season in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader versus the Kansas City Royals. Kopech has mainly pitched out of the bullpen, but has made two starts this season. He has looked dominant in both roles […]