We’ve reached the All-Star break, known by fantasy players as the “point in the season where you double guys’ stats in your head to check their season-long pace before realizing it’s really more like the 60% mark than the halfway mark, and also four days without checking box scores, what am I supposed to do with my life” break.
Being midsummer, it’s also time to start talking trade, with the deadline approaching at the end of the month. Our own Rick Graham wrote a terrific article breaking down the closers most likely to swap teams. While making moves based on these odds isn’t a game I love to play, it’s an important consideration, and I’ll refer to it multiple times below.
This week I’ve got the usual news recap followed by my ranking of all available closers, along with a few new pickups for holds leagues.
(stats updated through Saturday, 7/12)
Closer News (by team)
ARI
This week’s most significant closer news is the injury to Shelby Miller, who hit the IL with a right forearm strain, and may not pitch again this season.
On an NFL depth chart, the D-Backs would now be on their fourth-string closer. This would appear to be a combination of Kevin Ginkel, Jalen Beeks, Juan Morillo, and Kyle Backhus. Beeks is on the IL himself, and it was Ginkel picking up Arizona’s lone save this week. Ginkel’s been terrible all season but better lately, and his recent performance along with his projected place in the bullpen preseason gives him the inside track. He’s the only Diamondback pitcher I would speculate on for saves at the moment, and he enters the lower half of my closer rankings this week.
ATL
This may be the final appearance for the Braves in this section. Atlanta’s two saves this week both went to Raisel Iglesias, who’s back to top form and more than a month removed from his last earned run allowed. His remarkable turnaround has him fully in command of the ninth inning once again. This may change if the Braves do indeed decide to sell at the deadline, given Iglesias is a 35-year-old closer on the last year of his contract. Otherwise, it’s time to move on from Dylan Lee in all non-holds leagues.
BOS
Aroldis Chapman has been one of the most-mentioned trade candidates among all closers, as he enters free agency next year. It’s a strange thing to consider given Boston currently holds a playoff spot, but trading Rafael Devers isn’t exactly a sign of World Series hopes.
If Chapman is indeed dealt, recent acquisition Jordan Hicks may be most likely to take his spot. Hicks has Boston’s only non-Chapman save in the last couple weeks, and while he’s had a rough season, he’s shown plenty of potential in a high-leverage relief role in the past. Particularly given his SP eligibility, Hicks is already a worthy speculative target in many league formats, and this situation is one to watch closely.
COL
Just a couple weeks removed from a heavily-disclaimered recommendation of Seth Halvorsen, I’m back in Rocky Mountain Hell, turning to the rising Victor Vodnik. Halvorsen put up a disastrous five-run outing–more like “ing” as he failed to tally a single “out”—on Wednesday. Vodnik sealed the deal on Friday, striking out three in a 3-2 Rockies win. The Rockies turned to Vodnik again on Saturday and he promptly followed up with an “ing” of his own, blowing the save with some poor defense behind him.
Vodnik has been decent since coming off the IL in late May, and his surface-level stats (2.63 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) are borderline immaculate by Colorado standards. He has, however, walked seventeen batters in his 27.1 innings, and his xERA (4.84) is a better indicator of what to expect going forward.
You know the drill; either you’re in a deep-enough roto league and desperate enough for saves where this matters, or you’re not, and can keep scrolling. If you are, Vodnik has entered the fray as a guy to watch; he should collect at least a share of the Rockies’ sparing save opportunities going forward.
PIT
For me, David Bednar is the most obvious trade target among all closers. All the boxes are checked: the Pirates are one of the league’s worst teams, and Bednar is a 30-year-old closer who has completely salvaged his value since his early-season demotion to Triple-A. Bednar’s got one year left on his deal and is arbitration-eligible in 2026.
Dennis Santana is more than capable of handling the ninth inning and provides elite ratios to boot. If you’ve got the roster space, the time to pick him up is sooner rather than later, at which point you can spend the next two weeks hitting refresh on your preferred source for breaking MLB news.
Saves (rankings <60%-rostered Yahoo)
- Daniel Palencia – CHC (48%)
- Camilo Doval – SF (59%)
- Robert Garcia – TEX (17%)
- Ronny Henriquez – MIA (39%)
- Matt Strahm – PHI (18%)
- Grant Taylor – CHW (12%)
- Kevin Ginkel – ARI (13%)
- Victor Vodnik – COL (<1%)
- Seth Halvorsen – COL (8%)
- Orion Kerkering – PHI (18%)
The Watchlist: Jordan Hicks (BOS), Dennis Santana (PIT), Anthony Bender (MIA), Kyle Backhus (ARI), Shawn Armstrong (TEX), Chris Martin (TEX)
Holds
JoJo Romero (STL) (2%)
JoJo Romero is on one of the best runs of any relief pitcher in baseball. He got off to a poor start in the first month of the season, but since April 23rd (that’s nearly three months ago), Romero has allowed just one earned run, lowering his ERA from 7.68 to its current 2.45. In the last month, only one Cardinal (Phil Maton) has more than Romero’s five holds, and he’s comfortably taken the third-place spot in the St. Louis bullpen, particularly since the falloff of Kyle Leahy.
Romero’s a somewhat soft-throwing lefty and not exactly the dominant type, but he’s allowed groundball-heavy (54.3%) contact, with an xBA of just .214. The strikeout totals have picked up as well, as he notched twelve in the last month across 9.1 innings. Romero should continue to be a stable source of ratios and a high-end source of holds for the rest of the season.
Ben Casparius (LAD) (7%)
With the return of Tyler Glasnow, the impending return of Blake Snell, and the loss of Michael Kopech, the Dodgers suddenly have a healthier rotation than they do a bullpen. And so, Ben Casparius returned to a relief role this week, following a generally unsuccessful stint as a starter (or bulk reliever). He picked up a hold against the Brewers on Wednesday, allowing just one hit in 1.2 innings.
With the exception of one spectacular six-run blowup on April 12th, Casparius showed a lot of promise as a more typical high-leverage reliever at the start of the season, notching three holds in his first five appearances. Had I placed Casparius in my SPRP rankings last week, he would’ve fallen in the 5-6 range, among the likes of Yariel Rodríguez and Garrett Whitlock. That flexibility makes for an extremely valuable piece in most points and holds leagues.
Tim Hill (NYY) (1%)
Tim Hill has emerged as one of the better mid-late inning options in a beleaguered New York bullpen. Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. are on the IL, and the Yanks have gotten at best inconsistent work from Jonathan Loáisiga and even Luke Weaver of late. In fact, Hill leads the team with four holds in the last month.
Like Romero, Hill is a low-velo lefty who walks a few guys too many and relies on the ground ball (66.7%!) to make his way in the world. Even by this standard Hill’s strikeout numbers are abysmal, with a 12.8% rate that is closely matched by the tee in your local T-ball league. He’s best left on waivers in points leagues and especially K/9 leagues, but should be reliable for holds and ratios otherwise.
