As we head into the final weeks of the fantasy baseball regular season, saves are still being recorded from unlikely sources, and unfortunately, injuries continue to plague the 2025 MLB closer position. Two high-end relievers are set to undergo Tommy John surgery, but we’ll identify some late-inning high-leverage relievers who you can slip into your fantasy baseball lineups if you’re looking for saves or holds. 

We’ve got a lot of bullpen usage-related news to cover, and we’ll introduce you to the newest 2025 MLB closer in this week’s Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report.

 

 

 

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball and are chasing the slumping Seattle Mariners for the final AL Wild Card spot. Their bullpen just got a lot deeper with Chris Martin being recently reinstated from the IL. He’s only appeared in two games since returning to action, but he’s already recorded a win. Martin should be a good resource for holds and an occasional save, moving forward. Shawn Armstrong looks like he’s the new Rangers closer. He’s recorded the team’s last three saves. He’s been largely overlooked by fantasy baseball managers, but in his last 22 appearances, he’s pitched to a 0.79 ERA, recorded 12 holds, a win, and the aforementioned three saves. 

San Diego Padres

If you play in a saves plus holds league, Padres reliever Jason Adam was a highly coveted commodity. He recorded the second-most holds in baseball this season with 29. Unfortunately, he ruptured his quad tendon and is almost certainly out for the rest of the season. The Padres do have a deep bullpen headlined by Robert Suarez (35 saves) and Mason Miller. Miller pitched an immaculate inning using nine sliders on Wednesday. Both are obviously rostered in all league formats. However, if you’re looking for a replacement for Adam, Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada have both been excellent resources for holds this season. 

 

 

 

Milwaukee Brewers 

The Brewers got some more bad news over the past week. As you’ll recall, their closer, Trevor Megill, recently hit the IL due to a flexor strain and is likely to miss the rest of the regular season. Unfortunately, Shelby Miller, whom the Brewers traded for at the MLB trade deadline, will need to undergo Tommy John surgery. It’s a big blow for the Brew Crew. Miller was a key depth piece to their bullpen with Megill sidelined, and he has closer experience. The Brewers' bullpen has converted three saves since Megill hit the IL. Abner Uribe has two of those saves, and he also recorded a hold in the time since Megill last pitched on August 24th. Jared Koenig has the other save for the Brewers during that time span, and as a left-handed pitcher, he should get opportunities to close out games if the opposing lineup is stacked with left-handed batters. If you rostered Miller looking for holds, Nick Mears might be a good resource moving forward. He’s been working the late innings for the Brewers and has 16 holds on the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

I mentioned finding saves from unlikely sources in the opening paragraph, and don’t look now, but the Pirates’ bullpen has actually been fantasy relevant lately. As a unit, over the past two weeks, they’ve recorded five saves, and that is the third most in baseball. They also have the fifth-best ERA (3.24) during that time frame. As we take a deeper look at the components of this suddenly roster-worthy bullpen, Pirates closer Dennis Santana has seven saves and a 1.64 ERA in his last 11 appearances. Isaac Matson is the next man up, and he has proven to be a good resource for holds. In his last seven appearances, he’s converted five holds. He’s also pitched to a 2.57 ERA and struck out six batters while walking none during that time frame. 

 

 

 

San Francisco Giants

It turns out that Randy Rodriguez, who was placed on the IL last Tuesday due to right elbow soreness, will indeed require Tommy John surgery. We talked about how good Ryan Walker had been lately in last week’s article, and he has continued to lead the Giants’ bullpen since Rodriguez hit the IL. In his five appearances since taking over the closer’s role, Walker has converted four saves and also recorded a win. He’s pitched four scoreless innings while striking out six batters, and he hasn’t walked a batter during that time span. Jose Butto and Joel Peguero would likely be next in line for save opportunities should Walker be unavailable. Peguero, who has 35 career minor league saves, has been particularly impressive. He hasn’t given up a run in his first nine major league IP this season, and Peguero has struck out six batters while walking just one.Â