Top 125 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues in 2025

Tier 1

• Tier 1 are the high upside, near sure-fire locks for plenty of SV+HLDs that can also provide significant ratio and strikeout help. The strikeout help part of that is the main reason someone like Raisel Iglesias missed out on this tier, as we saw the K rate dip to 26.3% last year (theres also no chance he finishes with a .199 BABIP again). At 35 years old, I just dont see him getting back to a 30% K rate…which isn’t to say he’s bad (he’s easily a top 10 closer), the upside just isn’t the same as the rest of the guys in this first tier.

Tier 2

• This is like Tier 1, but I’m not sure they have the same four-category upside as that first tier. But someone who has been consistently dominant going on three seasons now is Jason Adam, who falls down the list a bit in this update but it’s not for anything to be concerned with. In fact, given his 19.3% SwStr rate from 2024, I would not be surprised to see him get back into the 30% K rate club. I wonder if he and Jeremiah Estrada eat into each other’s value a bit, at least until Robert Suarez is traded or perhaps Adam gets moved as well, leaving his future up in the air as well.

• This tier also features relievers who are coming off breakout seasons, as we wonder if they can repeat in 2025. Luke Weaver checks off that box, and while I do believe in the changes he made and the overall stuff, how is he going to handle coming off a 74 game, 99.1 inning pitched year as a full time reliever for the first time? That’s an intense workload change for someone who’s appeared in 30 games just once in his career and has just two seasons over 100 IP over the past ten years.

Tier 3

• Tier 3 has some veteran closers albeit ones with significant question marks. For Trevor Megill, it’s all about being and staying healthy, and it would also be nice to see him get that strikeout rate back to 30%. Megill has already had a slow start to camp as he’s dealing with an undisclosed “minor health issue” but theres not word yet on when we may see him in game action, so it’s something to keep an eye on for now.

• If I had to pick who I thought would have the most saves in the Dodgers bullpen following the signing of Kirby Yates, I would have said Kirby Yates. So it was really interesting to hear Dave Roberts talk about Tanner Scott getting the brunt of saves early on with beat writer Fabian Ardaya recently saying that Scott “won’t be the set closer, but will often get the most critical outs along with Blake Treinen“. Yates is surprisingly absent here, and while I wouldn’t read into it too much, it still is something to think about here as the team did prioritize keeping Treinen and signing Scott this offseason, and perhaps they view Yates as just a luxury fall back option.

• There was some speculation that Adrian Morejon could get a chance to move into the rotation for the Padres this season, but the team opted to go a different route with their rotation, and are now hoping for Morejon to be their left-handed high leverage guy. Morejon essentially will be replacing Tanner Scott here, and the sky is the limit for him as far as SV+HLD upside goes. There is a lot of talent in this bullpen for Morejon to contend with though.

• Ryan Presslys addition to the Cubs bullpen shakes things up for Porter Hodge, who is coming off a fantastic rookie season but will likely now have to wait a year to get that full time closer nod in Chicago. I actually see Hodge better suited for a set up role long term anyway because his fastball is not very good, but the sweeper is elite so I think he’ll be just fine setting up games for Pressly this year.

• Yimi García is back in Toronto where he excelled last season, making this one of my favorite moves off the offseason that benefits the player and team. The expectation is that Jeff Hoffman opens the year as the team’s closer, and that is perfectly fine because Garcia should find himself locked in to some high leverage role as the second best reliever in that bullpen (Chad Green was fine, but still a shell of his former self).

Tier 4

• Tier 4 brings us the already injured relievers, with Michael Kopech leading the charge. Kopech is dealing with a forearm injury, which is never a good thing, especially when we are still in February. He was able to throw off a mound recently though, so there is still a chance he can be ready for opening day.

• Dedniel Núñez broke out in a big way for the Mets last season but finished the year on the IL with a forearm injury and is being brought along very slowly this winter. There’s a chance he begins the season on the IL as well, but assuming there are no significant setbacks, he should be able to debut in April.

• Andrew Nardi who also finished 2024 on the IL has been slow in camp as well dealing with a back injury. The good news for Nardi is that he has been able to play catch and it appears he has a chance to make it back in time for opening day.

• Jake Cousins finally had a mini breakout with the Yankees last year, but he too has been slowed this spring as he was shutdown from throwing for four weeks due to a forearm strain. He should have enough time to be ready for opening day, but he could start on the IL as this bullpen is very deep and Cousins is one of the only relievers with an option year left.

• Andrew Walters has three option years left but he is projected to open the season in the Guardians bullpen and represents another chunk of this tier: the young unknown relievers with big time stuff but next to no track record in high-leverage MLB situations. Walters likely won’t see high leverage chances right away, but could work his way into the mix with a strong start to the season and/or something happens to the guys at the top of the depth chart there. One thing’s for certain, that this Guardians bullpen will be a force for years to come.

Tier 5

• Tier 5 moves into the boring veteran category, but not only is there limited upside here, there’s also some question marks as well. Take Chris Martin for example, he doesn’t walk anybody and is likely the opening day closer for the Rangers but there’s some age and injury concerns here and just not enough upside to chase this early on.

• Jesús Tinoco may not be the favorite for saves but he’s still going to have some value in holds leagues at the very least. I still prefer taking him over Calvin Faucher in both save only and SV+HLD leagues.

• Tyler Rogers is kind of in that Chris Martin mold where he’s safe and reliable, but we know he’s limited to helping in just 2 maybe 3 categories, so you should be able to find a replacement reliever for free in season. In roto leagues Rogers gets a boost though because you know he’s probably good for 30 holds.

• Jorge López will now have to settle for a set up role with Kyle Finnegan back in Washington (ugh) but I’m still excited to see if the changes López made in Chicago last year carry over to his tenure in Washington.

• Camilo Doval won’t open as the teams closer as Ryan Walker has earned that role, but it feels like a clean slate for Doval after a tumultuous 2024. The swing and miss stuff was still there last season, but the walk rate shot up to 14.4% so bring that back to around 10% will be important.

Tier 6

• Danny Coulombe had a shortened 2024 season due to injury but he remained dominant, posting a 2.12 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 25.2% K-BB rate. He moves to the Twins where, if healthy, he should be an upgrade over Caleb Thielbar as the Twins top left-handed relief option.