The Giants closer situation may come full circle with Randy Rodríguez struggling since Camilo Doval was traded and now dealing with right arm soreness. There is no real reason for the Giants to push Rodriguez, so are we about to see Ryan Walker finish the season in the role he opened the year in? Since the start of July, Rodríguez now holds a 4.50 ERA (4.64 xFIP), 1.29 WHIP and 24.2% K rate while Walker has a 1.89 ERA (2.42 xFIP), 1.05 WHIP and 28.4% K rate. Rodríguez is clearly fading and while Walker hasn’t exactly dominated like he did last season, he’s still been the teams most effective reliever over the past two months and has earned the chance to step back into the closer role. (EDIT: Rodríguez was placed on the IL so that confirms Walker as the Giants closer moving forward).
Notes
- Bryan Abreu has the Astros past two saves and with Bennett Sousa now out along with Josh Hader, there’s no reason to suspect Abreu won’t be the teams closer the rest of the regular season. Hader and Sousa hope to be ready for the postseason, but for now we get to watch one of the games best setup men over the past four seasons finally get his chance at the closer role.
- Tanner Scott returned from the IL this past weekend, and while he’s only thrown six pitches since, he at least seems healthy and ready to finish the season strong. In his first game back, Scott even showed improved velocity, with his fastball up over a MPH and his slider up 2.5 MPH.
- Pete Fairbanks has now hit a career high for innings pitched in a season which is great, but let’s talk about how dominant he has been since the All-Star break. Fairbanks 34.8% K-BB post break is the highest amongst all closers as is his 1.81 SIERA with his 2.38 xFIP trailing only Jose A. Ferrer. For reference, Fairbanks entered the All-Star break with a 10.7% K-BB and 4.06 SIERA on the season. Nothing has really changed in his repertoire, the velocity is mostly the same and while he is throwing his slider slightly more there isn’t one thing that stands out to me that we can attribute with his strong second half. Either way, it’s exciting times to see Fairbanks dominate like this again.
- The Padres went out at the deadline and added one of the best closers in baseball, and how did Robert Suarez respond? By straight dominating, as Suarez now holds a 1.54 ERA (2.66 SIERA), 0.94 WHIP and 25% K-BB rate over his past 11.2 IP. He may not be the most talented reliever in that bullpen (or even one of the top 4 most talented) but he’s upped his game and can hopefully finish the season strong.
- I’m not too worried about David Bednar (last 10 days haven’t been great though) as much as I’m curious to see if Devin Williams gets one more crack at the closer role given this dominant stretch he is on right now (6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 15 K). For save only leagues I think both should be rostered for the time being, with Williams down to his last strike realistically.
- Cade Smith has now allowed four earned runs over his past three outings after what was a great start to the month of August for the Guardians new closer. I’d chalk this up to some late season fatigue (velocity has been down over his past eight games), and I don’t think he is in danger of losing the job yet but it’s something to keep an eye on moving forward as he was never meant to be the closer in the first place.
- Daniel Palencia may also be going through a similar rough patch, as the relievers velocity has been down over his last three outings and he now holds a 4.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in the month of August. The walk rate has gone up this month, but the good news here is that he is still missing bats at a great rate so lets hope this stretch passes.
- Jordan Leasure was one of the most hyped up relievers in March of 2024 only to go on and produce a 6.32 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 18.3% K rate over 31.1 innings last year. Fast forward to August of 2025, and while it’s just one month, we have seen the type of upside Leasure flashed last spring with Leasure posting a 2.00 ERA (1.13 SIERA), 0.56 WHIP and 48.5% K rate over 9 innings so far. I still love Grant Taylor’s upside here too, but for now I think Leasure is the play if you feel obligated to chase saves in this bullpen.
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aroldis ChapmanT1 | BOS | +1 |
| 2 | Edwin Díaz | LAD | -1 |
| 3 | Jhoan Duran | PHI | +1 |
| 4 | Andrés Muñoz | SEA | +1 |
| 5 | Abner UribeT2 | MIL | +UR |
| 6 | Bryan Abreu | HOU | +6 |
| 7 | Tanner Scott | LAD | +UR |
| 8 | Pete Fairbanks | MIA | +6 |
| 9 | Robert Suarez | ATL | +7 |
| 10 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | +1 |
| 11 | Jose A. Ferrer | SEA | +2 |
| 12 | Jeff Hoffman | TOR | -3 |
| 13 | David Bednar | NYY | -7 |
| 14 | Cade SmithT3 | NYY | -6 |
| 15 | Daniel Palencia | CHC | -5 |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen | DET | -1 |
| 17 | Carlos Estévez | KC | - |
| 18 | Emilio Pagán | CIN | +1 |
| 19 | Ryan Walker | SF | +UR |
| 20 | Dennis Santana | PIT | -2 |
| 21 | Kyle FinneganT4 | DET | -1 |
| 22 | Will Vest | DET | -1 |
| 23 | JoJo Romero | STL | +2 |
| 24 | Mason MillerT5 | SD | -2 |
| 25 | Devin Williams | NYM | +6 |
| 26 | Jordan Leasure | CWS | +UR |
| 27 | Shawn Armstrong | CLE | +3 |
| 28 | Ronny Henriquez | MIA | -5 |
| 29 | Sean Newcomb | CWS | -5 |
| 30 | Tony Santillan | CIN | +3 |
| 31 | Phil Maton | CHC | -5 |
| 32 | Seranthony Domínguez | CWS | +UR |
| 33 | Victor Vodnik | COL | -5 |
| 34 | Riley O’Brien | STL | - |
| 35 | Calvin Faucher | MIA | +2 |
| 36 | Justin Topa | MIN | -9 |
| 37 | Grant Taylor | CWS | -8 |
| 38 | Reid Detmers | LAA | +UR |
| 39 | Robert Garcia | TEX | -4 |
| 40 | Keegan Akin | BAL | - |
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