NL Closer Report: Injuries, Chaos & New Fantasy Baseball Saves Options

It's been a rough start to the year when it comes to fantasy baseball closers. There's been injuries, poor performances and more that has made it tough to trust your fantasy options.

Let's go over National League closers in this article - here was the last NL update. Check back in a bit for the American League closer writeup.

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Braves

Raisel Iglesias had been the team's closer, but he hit the 15-day injured list, so now Robert Suarez is serving as the closer.

Suarez has two saves since last Saturday - he earned one of those with Iglesias still around, but got a hold while Iglesias claimed a save the following day.

It appears that Iglesias will get the closer role back when he's healthy, but for now, Suarez is the go-to guy. If you can sell Suarez high in a trade, now is the time to do that.

Dodgers

Edwin Diaz was the LA closer, but now he's out for three months with an injury. Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia are expected to get the save chances in the meantime, and maybe Blake Treinen could also factor in.

Over the past week, Scott has the only save in the LA bullpen, getting that save on Thursday. Treinen blew a save and took a loss back on Sunday, which is the last time that Vesia worked.

This is a situation to watch, and might remain that way until Diaz is back.

Padres

There's no doubt in San Diego about who the closer is. Mason Miller is the guy, and he's the best reliever, and one of the best players overall, in fantasy.

Adrian Morejon earned a save on Tuesday, but Miller had saves on Saturday, Sunday and Thursday. It's at least good to know that Morejon is likely second in line for saves if Miller is ever unavailable.

Cubs

Daniel Palencia was the Cubs' closer, but he's on the injured list as well. Caleb Thielbar had been earning the saves since Palencia hit the IL, but he blew a save and got hurt on Thursday, so the closer situation in Chicago is a mess.

Ben Brown or Jacob Webb could be next in line for saves if Thielbar is out with an injury. It's a situation to keep tabs on until Palencia is back in the mix.

Reds

Emilio Pagan is the Reds' closer, but he doesn't have a save since Saturday. He blew a save, but earned a win on Sunday.

Tony Santillan earned a save on Friday, and Graham Ashcraft got a save on Saturday. Those are the next two in line for saves if Pagan is even unavailable or hurt.

Cardinals

Riley O'Brien is still earning every save chance in St. Louis. He earned saves on Saturday and Tuesday, while blowing a save, but earning a win on Sunday.

JoJo Romero and Ryne Stanek are likely next in line for saves for the Cardinals, but O'Brien is the clear go-to guy right now.

Diamondbacks

Paul Sewald is the D-Backs' closer, but didn't earn a save over the past six days. He took a loss on Thursday across two appearances in that timeframe.

Juan Morillo or Jonathan Loaisiga are probably next in line for saves if Sewald ever struggles or is unavailable/hurt.

Pirates

Dennis Santana or Gregory Soto are the options in Pittsburgh. Santana has pitched once over the past six days, while Soto appeared in two games. Soto blew a save, but earned a win on Wednesday - that's also when Santana pitched.

This is a situation to keep monitoring, as it changes often. Both guys are better deep-league fantasy assets until a leader steps up.

Brewers

Trevor Megill is out as the team's closer, and it looks like Abner Uribe is the guy right now. Megill had two holds over the past six days, while Uribe earned a save on Saturday, then took a loss on Thursday.

This is yet another situation to keep tabs on until a clear closer has emerged. Megill might get his closer role back in time, so don't write him off quite yet.

Marlins

Pete Fairbanks had a stellar week, earning saves on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.

Fairbanks is the clear closer, and there's not really a clear setup man, so his closer role is pretty safe.

Giants

Ryan Walker has re-emerged as the clear closer in San Fran. He blew a save on Saturday, but got saves on Tuesday and Wednesday, so he's addable in a lot of fantasy leagues again.

Erik Miller and Matt Gage each earned two holds this week, while Keaton Winn, Caleb Kilian and Ryan Borucki all had one. The closer role is Walker's, at least for now.

Nationals

No Washington reliever earned a save over the past six days. Clayton Beeter and Gus Varland are the projected co-closers at this time.

Beeter is my guess for who would get the save chances, as he only pitched once over the past six days. Varland appeared three times, earning a hold.

This is another situation to keep tabs on, as things could change in a week or less. The Nats just have to win some more close games.

Rockies

Colorado earned one save over the past week, and it went to Victor Vodnik on Saturday. He pitched on Sunday as well, but didn't earn a decision. Vodnik blew a save and took a loss on Thursday.

Vodnik is the go-to guy right now, but Colorado likely isn't going to win enough to support him as anything more than a deep-league asset. Vodnik has to pitch better to even be worth owning in deeper leagues too.

Mets

Devin Williams is the team's closer, but had a pretty rough week. He blew a save on Sunday, then took a loss on Tuesday. Williams bounced back and secured a win on Thursday at least.

New York hasn't won enough to support him early on, so Williams has been dropped in a lot of standard leagues. Keep tabs on him in case the Mets start winning more.

Luke Weaver and/or Brooks Raley could be the next in line for saves if Williams ever struggles or is hurt/unavailable.

Phillies

Philly is the other really disappointing team to open the 2026 regular season. The Phillies are without their closer, as Jhoan Duran is on the injured list.

Brad Keller is the one holding down the closer role in the meantime, but he hasn't earned a save over three appearances this week. The only reliever with a decision in the past six days is Tanner Banks, and he took two losses.

This is a situation to monitor until Duran is back in the mix, at which point he'll regain the closer role. Philly needs to win more to support his fantasy cause though.