American League Closer Review | What to Make of Things for the Yankees, Tigers and Red Sox

After looking at the closer situation for every National League team, it's time to go over the American League closers.

Here's the last story we did on AL closers.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

Tigers

Tommy Kahnle has five saves for Detroit, but Will Vest has three and Brant Hurter two.

Kahnle earned the team's most recent save, and is the most-owned fantasy asset, albeit at just 33%. Vest and Hurter allowed runs in their most recent appearances, so Kahnle is likely the favorite to close games in the near future.

Until he's consistently getting save chances though, he's a better deep-league option. This committee might never see anyone make it to standard league levels.

Guardians

Emmanuel Clase has five saves for Cleveland, but Cade Smith also has three now. Clase still appears to be the lead guy for the Guardians, but Smith is there to take the job if Clase continues to struggle.

Clase has a 4-0 record, but an ugly 6.75 ERA across 13 1/3 innings - he has 14 strikeouts. Smith is 1-0 with a 1.15 ERA and 21 punchouts over 15 2/3 innings, so he's a decent fantasy asset even if he's not closing games.

Royals

Carlos Estevez has nine of the team's 11 saves. He's 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA and 13 punchouts over 15 innings.

He's got a good hold on the closer role for now, but Lucas Erceg is there if he ever struggles or gets injured. Erceg has a 0.73 ERA, a save and eight strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings.

Twins

Jhoan Duran leads the Twins with two saves… yes, that is accurate. Minnesota has just three saves on the season.

Duran has a 1.46 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings, so it's a shame he hasn't gotten more save opportunities. They should come in time, and that will help his own percentage rise again - he's at 87% right now.

White Sox

Brandon Eisert has the only save for Chicago so far. He's also got a 5.54 ERA, but does have 16 strikeouts over 13 innings.

No Chicago fantasy reliever is worth owning right now. The team won't win enough to support a good fantasy asset in many leagues.

Mariners

Andres Munoz has all 11 of his team's saves. He's 1-0, hasn't allowed a run and has struck out 19 batters over 15 innings.

All those numbers combined have Munoz as the top fantasy reliever in points leagues right now. Roster and utilize him until further notice.

Astros

Josh Hader has eight of the team's nine saves so far this season. He's 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 20 punchouts over 15 innings.

Hader had a down season by his lofty standards in 2024, but he's back to being an elite option so far in 2025. It would take an injury or extended struggles for Hader to lose the No. 1 closer role.

Athletics

Mason Miller has nine of the 10 Athletics' saves. He has a 1.64 ERA and 22 punchouts over 11 innings so far.

Miller has been fantastic to start the season, and he remains a must-own fantasy asset despite being on an average team at best. His big strikeout numbers should keep him as an elite fantasy option even if he isn't earning a ton of saves or is allowing a few more runs.

Rangers

Luke Jackson leads Texas with eight saves. Three other pitchers have one save for the Rangers.

Jackson is 0-3, and all of a sudden has a 6.55 ERA. He's struck out nine over 11 innings. Over his past four appearances, Jackson has allowed seven runs.

More struggles moving forward will probably force the Rangers to give someone else the save opportunities. Chris Martin and Robert Garcia are the two most likely options if Jackson ever does lose the closer role.

Angels

Kenley Jansen has six of the team's eight saves and is the clear No. 1 option for LA. He has not allowed an earned run over eight innings, while also striking out eight batters.

He's earned a save in four straight appearances, but he's only worked four times since April 8.

I was worried about Jansen not earning enough saves with the Angels, and it's become a theme now. He's owned in 79% of leagues, but is trending toward being a deep-league option only.

Yankees

Devin Williams leads the Yankees with four saves, but he's lost the closer role after posting a 9.00 ERA across 10 innings. Williams has 10 strikeouts over those innings, but is also 0-2.

Fernando Cruz and Luke Weaver have two saves each for New York. Weaver appears to be the leader for the closer role, and for good reason.

Across 14 innings this season, Weaver has not allowed a run. He's given up just three hits and five walks, while punching out 14 batters. Weaver doesn't have a win or loss, but has worked the ninth inning in back-to-back games now.

This is a tricky fantasy situation to navigate, as Williams was one of the top fantasy closers coming into the season. He's still owned in 84% of leagues, but that number will keep shrinking if he's not picking up saves, or pitching any better.

Weaver is up to 74% rostered, and that will continue to grow as he starts earning more saves. The Yankees should win plenty to justify adding Weaver in all fantasy leagues eventually.

This is a very fluid situation, and one to watch closely every day. Williams could earn his closer role back in time, but for now, he's really just a deep-league option. I get if you want to stash him in a standard league so you don't lose out on your top-end fantasy pick.

Weaver is worth an add in any fantasy setup. The saves haven't come yet, but they should in time. His ERA and strikeout totals are reason enough to add him, and the saves would just be a bonus.

Cruz could also be a name to track in case he steals the closer role.

We'll keep an eye on this over the course of the next several days and weeks.

Red Sox

Aroldis Chapman leads Boston with four saves, and Justin Slaten is at three saves. 

Chapman is 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings. Slaten is 0-1 with a 3.48 ERA and nine punchouts over 10 1/3 innings.

It's obvious Chapman is the better fantasy asset right now, but because he's not getting a ton of saves yet, he's owned in just 76% of fantasy leagues. In time the saves could come, and then Chapman could be worthy of being rostered in all fantasy leagues.

Slaten is worth keeping tabs on too, but I think Chapman is the fantasy reliever you want in Boston, both now and for the remainder of the season.

Rays

Pete Fairbanks has six of the team's eight saves so far. He's 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings.

Fairbanks' fantasy value is being held back a bit by the team he's on. I also think he's undervalued at just 73% rostered. Until he gets more saves though, Fairbanks is a better deep-league asset.

Blue Jays

Jeff Hoffman has six of the team's eight saves. He's 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 22 punchouts over 15 1/3 innings.

Hoffman has been great so far, and it's turned him into a must-own fantasy asset. He'll retain the role as long as he's healthy and pitching well.

Orioles

Felix Bautista is up to five saves - nobody else for Baltimore has a save. Bautista has a 2.00 ERA over nine innings. He's struck out 11 batters.

He's starting to get a few more save chances, and his own percentage is starting to climb a bit again. Bautista is still available to about 10% of you.