Fantasy Reliever Rankings: Closers, Holds & SOLDs – 3/26

• With no Hunter Gaddis to start the year, Shawn Armstrong and Matt Festa should see more high-leverage work. Erik Sabrowski should be locked in as the teams top left handed setup man to open the year.

Colorado Rockies

• Victor Vodnik is going to open the year as the team’s closer, but you’ll likely want to stay away from this bullpen. Especially if you are in weekly leagues, as the Rockies play a series at home once a week for the first half of the season.

Detroit Tigers

• Kenley Jansen is safe as the team’s closer, as long as he is healthy. Tyler Holton brings little upside to the table, but we know he’s going to factor into game outcomes, and having SP eligibility doesn’t hurt.

Houston Astros

• WE got a Josh Hader update today, as it sounds like the plan is for him to face hitters in mid-April. That seems later than we’d probably hoped for, but that means more save chances for Bryan Abreu (probably). Abreu has not looked great this spring (both results-wise and stuff-wise), so hopefully he’s just shaking off some rust, and nothing is going on there health-wise.

Kansas City Royals

• Carlos Estévez apparently will be on the team’s opening day roster despite still being down 7 MPH. In his last outing, he struck out three (don’t read into that), but he was clearly laboring, and it feels obvious that he is not 100% healthy. I’d still stash Strahm or maybe Erceg in deeper leagues, but it feels like everyone in this bullpen is in a decline.

Los Angeles Angels

• Kirby Yates was a surprise IL placement this week, as he will miss some time with a knee injury, and at his age, this could be a long-term thing. Jordan Romano (if healthy) might get the first chance to close out games here, but I still like Drew Pomeranz long term, and think the signing of another lefty in Joey Luchessi may be a sign the team feels the same way. Sam Bachman has looked electric at times this spring, and it feels like he’s leapfrogged Ryan Zeferjahn for potential holds chances, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Bachman eventually worked his way into the saves mix as well.

Los Angeles Dodgers

• We know the top three options in the Dodgers bullpen, and while Blake Treinen was probably the favorite for that fourth spot entering March, he may have pitched himself out of a big role this spring. Will Klein has some momentum right now, but there’s also Edgardo Henriquez, Ben Casparius, and Jake Dreyer. This bullpen is so deep, it may be hard to trust anyone outside of Díaz, Scott, and (hopefully) Vesia for consistent SOLDS.

Miami Marlins

• The Marlins have talked about Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender opening the year in a setup role, but let’s also not forget about Andrew Nardi coming off an electric spring.

Milwaukee Brewers

• Just reading the tea leaves here, but based on how their springs went, I think the Brewers are looking at Angel Zerpa as their top late-inning lefty right now, replacing Jared Koenig, who has struggled mightily this spring (both stuff and results-wise).

Minnesota Twins

• I don’t know who will be closing here, but I don’t want to roster Taylor Rogers if I don’t have to. Cole Sands may actually be the closer here after all, moreso by default than actually earning the job, but I’d be ok taking a chance on him. I’m still holding out hope that Eric Orze gets a chance here eventually (or a SP is moved into the bullpen).

New York Mets

•  With A.J. Minter out, who is the 4th reliever the Mets can trust in this bullpen? Luis García Jr. may get the first chance, but realistically, you’ll want to avoid the rest of this bullpen outside of the top three.

New York Yankees

• I’m glad to see Brent Headrick make the team out of camp, but the next step is for him to overtake Tim Hill as the team’s top lefty. That shouldn’t be too difficult, but Headrick will need to be more consistent.

Philadelphia Phillies

• Orion Kerkering will start the year on the IL as he’s been slowed with a hamstring strain all camp. This allows Jonathan Bowlan to get some high-leverage looks, and I think there’s a good chance he is the team’s breakout reliever this year if he can stay healthy.

Pittsburgh Pirates

• We got some word of this closer situation being a potential committee this season, which makes sense, but I’d still predict Santana gets the most chances early on in the year. Mason Montgomery remains the best upside stash here, while Gregory Soto has closer experience and is probably “sharing” the role with Santana for now, depending on matchups. Isaac Mattson’s fastball shape has me more intrigued in him, but there’s still limited upside there.

San Diego Padres

• Jason Adam will open the year on the IL, as the team will play it safe with him. Bradgley Rodriguez and David Morgan could fill in as the 4th RP for the time being, but Morgan probably has a better chance at holds based on seniority.

San Francisco Giants

• There’s not a lot to be excited about in this bullpen, but man, Caleb Kilian gave me some hope last night. I know Ryan Walker and Erik Miller will factor into the later innings consistently, but Kilian should be in that group with them based on what we’ve seen recently.

Seattle Mariners

• This bullpen remains steady. I guess the only question is who gets left out of the holds mix within their top 5 reliever core? It could be Bazardo, but more likely some combination of Bazarod, Speier, and Ferrer, depending on matchups.

St. Louis Cardinals

• We still have no indication of who the Cardinals will go with as their closer or if it will just be strictly a committee. The same four names they’ve been talking about remain in the mix.

Tampa Bay Rays

• No Hunter Bigge on the Opening Day roster is kind of a bummer, but we should see him up sooner rather than later. We still don’t know how this “closer committee” approach will play out, but I’m still in on Griffin Jax leading them in saves rather comfortably.