Our long national nightmare is over. Or is it?
Several members of the Dodgers beat reported Saturday that manager Dave Roberts plans to use Edwin Diaz in a lower-leverage role when the right-hander returns from a neck issue, which sounds like it'll happen sooner than later, and a number of aggregators in the usual places disseminated only that part of the report.
Unfortunately, there's more to it. The more complete version is that Roberts plans to use Diaz in a lower-leverage role at first before easing him back into the closer role as performance merits.
Maybe that never happens. Diaz has been terrible this year, whether going on or coming off the IL, so it's reasonable to question whether this latest stint will fix him. And we all know his absence means more saves for Tanner Scott, the Dodgers' big free agent closer flop from a year ago who has bounced back with a 2.24 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 11.0 K/9.
Our preferred outcome at this point would be for them to just stick with Scott, and given how little remains on the 2026 calendar, that's how this is likely to go. But if your league plays up to the very end, you can't count on it. Robert's mind may have opened a crack regarding Diaz, but we all remain subject to his whims.
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).
| Pecking order |
The Pirates also kicked off my last Bullpen Report two weeks ago, but the name at the top of the pecking order then was Luke Weaver. The team had just acquired him from the Mets, presumably to be the solution to their season-long closer problem. But he has gotten precisely zero of the Pirates' saves since then while left-hander Mason Montgomery has gotten all three. Turns out the solution was right under their noses, and you need only dig a little to confirm that he is indeed the solution. Over his past 22 appearances, Montgomery has a 0.86 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 17.6 -- yes, 17.6 -- K/9.
Frankly, he's been about that dominant all year, which explains his 14.5 K/9 overall. It's just that when Gregory Soto began losing his grip on the closer role in June, Montgomery endured his own little rough patch, bringing his ERA to 4.94, which took him off the table as well. Even at that point, though, his FIP was only 2.96. Clearly, the Pirates know what they have now, and what they have is a reliever who could legitimately be top five the rest of the way. At 43 percent, Montgomery is criminally under-rostered in leagues where saves matter.
| Pecking order |
Brandyn Garcia seemed like he was trending toward becoming the Diamondbacks closer, but his past three appearances haven't seen him used in that capacity. Two came as early as the seventh inning, and while the most recent one came in the ninth, he was removed before the final out, ceding a one-out save to Kevin Ginkel. With a 2.43 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 10.5 K/9, Garcia has been the Diamondbacks' best reliever, and I don't think Ginkel is a serious threat to capture the closer role outright.
Justin Martinez may be, though. The Diamondbacks' former closer just returned from Tommy John surgery about a week ago. He was dominant on his rehab assignment and has so far delivered two scoreless appearances, both in the eighth inning, while averaging nearly 101 mph on his fastball. For reliability, he's unlikely to outclass Garcia, but he has right-handedness going for him. I think the main reason why Garcia has had trouble securing the closer role is because he's the only left-hander in the Diamondbacks bullpen, which means they can't always leave him for the ninth. Garcia remains the top choice in Fantasy for now, but Martinez is closing in.
| Pecking order |
Q: Who has four of the Royals' past seven saves? A: Steven Cruz. So that would make him the favorite for saves going forward, yes? Well ... except for the fact that Cruz has only two of the Royals' past four saves, with another reliever also having two: Nate Pearson.
You may remember Pearson as a top prospect in the Blue Jays system, a flamethrower who was tracking toward becoming an ace before injuries got in the way. He still throws flames, averaging 97.7 mph on his fastball this year, which is an important quality for a late-inning reliever. And that's what Pearson has become for the Royals, working the eighth inning or later in nine consecutive appearances. The one that most raised an eyebrow, though, came two appearances ago, when he worked the ninth for a save while Cruz worked the eighth. But then, the very next day, the Royals had Pearson work the eighth and Cruz the ninth (though technically not for a save because the Royals extended their lead to four in the bottom of the eighth). So I guess it's status quo for two relievers who throw hard but don't have a ton of closer characteristics otherwise. If nothing else, I feel confident saying Cruz has little margin for error now that a next-in-line has emerged.
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Daniel Palencia has spent more of the year hurt than healthy, but he just returned from his latest IL stint (flexor strain) with a perfect seventh inning Friday, showing his usual velocity and striking out two. Jacob Webb had only recently settled into the closer role but was doing a good job there, at least until his latest appearance Saturday when he coughed up three runs to blow the save, the final two coming on a walk-off home run to Randy Arozarena. That might be all the excuse the Cubs need to move Palencia back into the closer role, which seems like an inevitability.
| Pecking order |
Kodai Senga's winding career path has most recently landed him in the closer role for the Mets. We can deduce this not just from his four saves over the past couple weeks and six consecutive appearances in the ninth but also his choreographed Michael Jackson-themed reliever entrance, with all the pomp and circumstance befitting of a closer. Senga still has a 7.79 ERA overall, but since he began throwing one inning at a time – a span of eight appearances now – he has a 2.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 11.0 K/9. His patented ghost fork will certainly play in short spurts, so maybe this new limited role is exactly what he needs. Daniel Duarte has been pretty good as well, and it's still possible Devin Williams makes it back from a shoulder strain before the year is done. But the way the Mets are playing up Senga's new role suggests to me that they plan for him to finish out the year in it.
| Pecking order |
Ben Joyce has generated closer-in-waiting buzz since before he even reached the majors in 2023, and now that he's back from a torn labrum in his shoulder, he may finally be delivering on that promise. I don't just mean in terms of occupying the role, which he has done for three of the Angels' past four save opportunities, but also looking the part. His fastball velocity has always been legendary, peaking at 104 mph, but he actually hadn't been as big of a bat-misser as you'd expect in previous MLB stints, sporting a career swinging-strike rate of 13.0 percent. In his seven appearances this year, it's 16.1 percent, yielding nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
The Angels have struggled to nail down the closer role all year, first trying out Jordan Romano and then dabbling with Kirby Yates and Ryan Zeferjahn (you'll notice none of those three are on the team anymore), so Joyce shouldn't face much competition moving forward. The only caveat is that the Angels haven't deemed him ready to work back-to-back days yet, which is why Ryan Watson got their latest save Saturday.
| Pecking order |
Yoendrys Gomez had the meltdown we were waiting for Monday, allowing four earned runs while recording just two outs in the ninth inning. It wasn't a save chance, but he made it a save chance, and Andrew Morris was the one who ended up getting the save. Why was it the meltdown we were waiting for? Because with the Twins acquiring Jeff Hoffman at the trade deadline, Gomez can no longer hold the claim of being the most talented reliever in their bullpen.
Here's the problem: Hoffman hasn't performed up to his talent level so far with the Twins. He seemed to have righted the ship in his last couple months with the Blue Jays but has struggled to throw strikes with his new club, issuing seven walks in 7 2/3 innings. Even with Monday's meltdown, Gomez has a 272 ERA in 45 appearances since joining the Twins in May, so he presumably still has manager Derek Shelton's trust, particularly with Hoffman not putting his best foot forward.
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Tony Vitello has shown a distaste for conventional bullpen roles in his inaugural season as Giants manager, and about the closest he's come to anointing a closer is when Caleb Kilian had four of the team's final seven saves leading up to the trade deadline, earning him a ticket to Philadelphia. But now may be the second-closest Vitello has come to anointing a closer, with Dylan Smith having secured two of the team's past three while making eight straight appearances in the eighth or ninth. There's nothing particularly special about him, with his 4.4 BB/9 being reason enough for pause, but if you're short on saves, investing in him is a better bet than anything the Orioles have going on.
| Pecking order |
No sense trying to figure out who's closing games for the Orioles now. It's some combination of Andrew Kittredge, Rico Garcia and Cam Sanders, and if Ryan Helsley has time to recover from his latest bout with elbow inflammation, maybe he'll step back into the role. Mostly, I just want to put on your radar the possibility of Felix Bautista making it back before season's end. The 6-foot-8 right-hander, who is nicknamed The Mountain, was emerging as one of the game's top closers before a series of injuries (torn UCL, torn labrum and torn rotator cuff) cost him all of 2024, most of 2025 and now almost all of 2026. His first rehab appearance for Double-A over the weekend was rocky, and he'll, of course, need to prove effective before being activated, much less closing again. But given the current state of the Orioles' bullpen, there's a small chance he picks up a save or two before the season's end.
