American League Closer Report: Closers, Committees and Chaos

It's time for our weekly check-in on fantasy baseball closers around the MLB.

We will start with American League teams/closers - here is the last update we did on AL relievers. Check back in a bit for a writeup on National League bullpens.

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Rays

No Tampa Bay reliever has a save over the past six days. Bryan Baker has been serving as the team's closer, but didn't earn a decision in his lone appearance on Monday.

Ian Seymour and Kevin Kelly have been top setup men for Tampa Bay, and Craig Kimbrel also joined the mix this week.

I still like Baker to get the save chances, but this is still a situation to monitor, as the Rays could mix-and-match relievers to seal up wins all season.

Yankees

David Bednar is the Yankees' go-to closer this season. He pitched once over the past six days, earning a save on Monday.

Ryan Yarbrough also earned a save, but that was a multi-inning appearance. Bednar is the go-to guy for now, with the likes of Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill serving as the top setup men.

Guardians

Cade Smith is the team's closer, and earned saves on Sunday and Wednesday over the past six days. He has the closer role all to himself.

Hunter Gaddis and Shawn Armstrong are the top setup men now with Erik Sabrowski now on the injured list.

White Sox

Seranthony Dominguez got the lone save for Chicago over the past six days. He earned it on Monday, a day after he didn't earn a decision.

Grant Taylor was in the closer mix as well, but earned a hold the day that Dominguez got the save, so Dominguez appears to be the closer for now. It's a situation to keep tabs on still.

Mariners

No Seattle reliever earned a save over the past week. Closer Andres Munoz didn't earn a decision in his lone appearance of the week.

Munoz has the closer role locked in, but he needs to pitch more and be earning saves to be a high-level fantasy asset, like he was a season ago.

Matt Brash and Jose A. Ferrer are setup men who could fill in for Munoz if he's ever unavailable or injured.

Blue Jays

Three different Toronto relievers earned saves over the past six days.

Jeff Hoffman got a save on Saturday, then wins on Wednesday and Thursday, so he's had a great week and is trending back up.

Tyler Rogers earned a save on Wednesday before Louis Varland got a save on Thursday. Varland has been the go-to closer of late, but with multiple relievers factoring in lately, this is another situation to be watching daily.

Athletics

Scott Barlow earned the team's only save over the past week, getting it on Sunday. 

Hogan Harris, Mark Leiter Jr. and Joel Kuhnel are part of what is a projected closer committee right now. Throwing in Barlow just complicates matters further, and makes all the Athletics' relievers better deep-league fantasy assets.

Keep tabs on things, but no reliever will be more than a deep-league asset unless the Athletics are winning and that reliever is the go-to closer in every save situation.

Twins

Three Minnesota relievers earned a save over the past six days.

Yoendrys Gomez picked up a save on Tuesday, after earning a hold on Sunday. He didn't get a decision after also pitching on Thursday.

Taylor Rogers earned a save on Saturday, hold on Sunday and win on Tuesday. He also pitched Thursday, not getting a decision in that one.

Travis Adams got the other save, needing just one pitch to claim it on Sunday. He pitched on Wednesday and Thursday, not getting a decision either day.

This situation is one to keep tabs on, but unless one reliever separates himself, and the Twins are winning enough close games, the relievers will be better deep-league fantasy assets.

Orioles

Ryan Helsley is still out, so the closer role isn't settled.

Rico Garcia has been the best option of late. He pitched once over the past six days, not earning a decision on Monday.

Anthony Nunez is another option, but he blew a save on Monday, then took a loss on Thursday, so I really like Garcia for the time being.

Things are worth monitoring daily until Helsley is back in the mix.

Astros

Bryan King, Enyel De Los Santos and Nate Pearson earned a save each over the past six days. Bryan Abreu is another closer option as Josh Hader is still out.

Hader is expected back soon, so the rest of the team's relievers will lose fantasy value when that happens. A few could be worth deep-league fantasy usage if the Astros win enough though.

Rangers

Jacob Latz got the lone save for Texas over the past week, getting it on Tuesday in his lone appearance of the week.

Jakob Junis and Tyler Alexander are the top setup men right now, with Chris Martin another option. Cole Winn and Robert Garcia are other late-inning relief options who are on the injured list.

Keep tabs on this situation for now, but I like Latz the best of the bunch.

Red Sox

No Boston reliever earned a save over the past week. Aroldis Chapman, the team's closer, didn't even get in a game over the past six days.

His fantasy upside is high, but his team isn't helping him at all. A change of scenery might be best for Chapman and his fantasy value in 2026.

Royals

Carlos Estevez is still out with an injury, so Lucas Erceg continues to serve as the closer for KC.

Erceg blew a save and took a loss on Monday, and he didn't earn a decision in his other appearance of the week on Sunday.

KC isn't winning enough to support a standard league fantasy closer, but Erceg can be used in some deeper leagues still. The return of Estevez could complicate things, so be watching for that and what happens when he's back.

Angels

Kirby Yates got the lone save for Los Angeles over the past week. He earned it on Saturday, and then took a no decision in his last appearance on Tuesday.

Sam Bachman and Ryan Zeferjahn are also part of a projected closer committee for now, and others like Jose Fermin and Drew Pomeranz could also factor in here and there. 

It's a situation to monitor daily for now, but LA isn't likely to win enough to support a fantasy asset outside of deeper leagues.

Tigers

Kenley Jansen has been serving as the team's closer, but is now on the 15-day injured list. He pitched twice over the past six days, most recently not earning a decision on Wednesday. Jansen took a loss and blown save on Sunday.

Kyle Finnegan, Drew Anderson, Tyler Holton and Will Vest are among the options out there to replace Jansen. Anderson has a win and save over the past six days, but he's been a multi-inning reliever, so he's not a great option for saves.

It's a situation to monitor over the next few days, and until Jansen is back. I like Finnegan the best, but Detroit might not win enough to make even a go-to closer a decent deep-league asset. The Tigers are a mess right now, and that extends to the team's bullpen.