Baseball is back, and all is right with the world—as long as baseball is the literal only thing you pay attention to. With that, Waiver Relief triumphantly returns for its second season, and my career as a professional sportswriter exceeds its expected value by… two seasons.
If you’re new around here, my goal with this column is what you would expect: to provide the week’s best pickups among available relief pitchers for both saves and holds leagues. These will range from emerging closers to deep-league setup men and the SP-eligible relievers you need to fill out your daily lineups optimally.
Seeing as it’s week one and y’know, the attention economy and whatnot, I’m going rapid-fire to touch on as many relevant names as possible. As the season progresses, you can expect a more focused approach, but the format will adapt to suit the news and needs of the given week.
Welcome back!
Saves (<=30%-rostered Yahoo)
Paul Sewald (ARI) (28%)
There’s something about leading this off with Paul Sewald that makes me feel cozy. While Sewald has been a fantasy afterthought the past two years, it was as recent as 2023 that he was one of the better relievers in the game. Admittedly, his appearance here is more due to the process of elimination than to any of that. Sewald is the leading closer candidate on a Diamondbacks team projected for 80-odd wins, with his top competition being Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson. That’s more than enough for me, though tacking on a nice spring with a fastball nearly two ticks up (~93 mph) from 2025 doesn’t hurt. Picking up Sewald now takes advantage of a rare opportunity to nab a closer for a decent team that is this widely available pre-season.
Garrett Cleavinger (TB) (21%)
Coming off an elite 2025 season, Garrett Cleavinger enters 2026 with an increased importance to a Rays pen that saw closer Pete Fairbanks take his talents to South Beach in the offseason. While Griffin Jax is seen as Tampa’s current frontrunner for saves, this is hardly a team known for its predictability when it comes to bullpen management. Notably, Cleavinger is currently the Rays’ only left-handed arm in relief, besides long man Ian Seymour. If the stars align with some LHBs in the ninth inning, you can bet Cleavinger takes the mound. That’s a nice floor for save chances at this roster rate, with the upside being quite a bit higher if Jax falters or is used erratically.
UPDATE: The Rays’ pen was predictably unpredictable on Thursday night, with both Cleavinger and Jax entering early and scuffling. There isn’t much to make of this other than perhaps the slightest of bumps to Bryan Baker (mentioned below), who didn’t appear in the 9-7 loss.
Clayton Beeter (WSH) (11%)
With a name destined only for a major league bullpen or a science lab in a Pixar movie, Clayton Beeter seems to have the inside track as Washington’s closer to start the season. Beeter is certainly a wildcard, and by that I mean he’s wild. Last year’s small-sample walk rate of 17.3% aligns with what we’ve seen of him at any level. Nonetheless, the stuff ain’t bad, with a 97-mph heater and a slider clocking a 119 Stuff+ grade last season. Coming off a dominant spring (0.00 ERA, 13 strikeouts in 7.1 innings), Beeter possesses more than enough upside to make him at least roster-worthy in most 12-team leagues.
UPDATE: Beeter pitched a scoreless eighth inning on Thursday with – you guessed it – a pair of walks. Keep an eye on Cole Henry (mentioned below) as a deep-league target for saves, though I still prefer Beeter for now.
Honorable Mention: Riley O’Brien (STL)
Saves (<= 10%)
Jordan Romano (LAA) (9%)
With injuries to Robert Stephenson (IL-60) and Kirby Yates (IL-15), the back-end of the Angels’ bullpen is wide open. Enter Jordan Romano… I think. Or maybe Drew Pomeranz? It’s a bit hard to say where the Angels’ (likely few) save chances will fall, but I give the edge to the experienced closer in these situations. There’s enough reason to speculate on Romano and see how the first couple of weeks play out.
UPDATE: It was indeed Romano coming in to pitch the ninth in a 3-0 Angels victory on Thursday, with Pomeranz picking up a hold in the eighth. Romano seems like the guy for now, with a decent chance of keeping the job if he performs well in Yates’s absence.
Chris Martin (TEX) (6%)
Deep in the heart of Texas, all signs point to an even split for saves between Chris Martin and Robert Garcia. So, it’s a little strange to me that Garcia is rostered in 34% of leagues and Martin just 6%. We’re only six months removed from seeing Garcia perform poorly enough in the same role to lose the job to Phil Maton and Shawn Armstrong. Martin, meanwhile, remains one of the steadiest arms around, consistently excellent since 2019. The lone knock on Martin is that he’s never logged more than four saves in a single season. I’m willing to bet that changes this year, and his roster rate at least deserves to match that of Garcia heading into 2026. From there, may the best man win.
Lucas Erceg (KC) (7%)
Much has been made about closer Carlos Estévez this spring, as his fastball has plummeted six ticks to ~90 mph. Estevez is a guy I’ve never fully trusted, perhaps to my detriment, as he’s coming off a 42-save season with a 2.45 ERA despite a 4.43 SIERA. If Estevez really has fallen off or just finally starts to perform more closely to his expected metrics, Lucas Erceg should be the main beneficiary, with Matt Strahm close behind. Erceg makes for possibly the best stash for saves among all current non-closers.
Honorable Mention: Hogan Harris (ATH)
Saves (<= 1%)
Cole Henry (WSH) (1%)
If Clayton Beeter can’t get his command in check, Cole Henry should be next up in the Nationals’ pen. That’s not much to get excited about, but Henry is at least watchlist material in 15-team leagues.
Bryan Baker (TB) (1%)
Bryan Baker is another name who should be spinnin’ ’round the Tampa closer carousel. Baker was the Orioles’ best reliever last season before being shipped off in July, garnering the Rays some mixed results. While Baker struggled early with his new team, he was solid over the season’s final two months, putting up a 3.04 ERA with a 26:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23.2 innings after the calendar turned to August. There’s room for Baker to stake a claim to the ninth inning in a pen that should be hard to pin down.
Elvis Alvarado (ATH) (<1%)
While early A’s save chances will likely fall to Mark Leiter Jr. and Hogan Harris, it’s Elvis Alvarado who has the best stuff in the Oakland bullpen. Alvarado is coming off a quietly solid season with a 3.19 ERA and 27.3% strikeout rate. There’s real breakout potential here if he can fight through the ranks.
Honorable Mention: Ryne Stanek (STL)
Holds (<= 10%)
Shawn Armstrong (CLE) (6%)
Shawn Armstrong is coming off a spectacular 2025 season with the Rangers. That’s not to say he hasn’t been spectacular before, as he was with the Rays in 2023, as well as before a down year in 2024, shuffling among a few teams. Now with the Guardians, Armstrong maintains the role of premier setup man in a bullpen with a few good ones, though notably missing Hunter Gaddis (IL-15) to start the season. Perhaps it’s the good-not-great strikeout numbers that keep him underrated, but Armstrong is the real deal, with a 2025 SIERA of 3.36 paired with elite quality-of-contact metrics (34.2% HardHit). I consider Armstrong a top-25 RP in holds leagues, and expect a repeat of last year’s performance that had him closing games for Texas by year-end.
José Alvarado (PHI) (3%)
It may be the aftermath of his 80-game PED suspension last year, but I’ve been surprised to see José Alvarado at such a low roster rate. Still arguably the top setup man (alongside Brad Keller) on a very good Phillies team, Alvarado makes for a particularly high-floor option among available RPs. While 2024 was a bit of a down season, Alvarado has otherwise regularly maintained a SIERA in the mid-twos (2.87 last year) and a K-BB% (21.9%) in the mid-twenties, with a fastball no worse for the wear (~99 mph). Perhaps we do see a downturn at age 30 following his time off, but otherwise, Alvarado should make for a top-30 RP for holds leagues and seems to be flying under the radar despite what should be ample name recognition.
Brendon Little (TOR) (5%)
Command woes were all that kept Brendon Little from being a truly elite reliever in 2025. While being something of a workhorse (68.1 IP, 30 HLD) out of the Toronto bullpen, Little put up a strikeout rate of 30.8%, benefited by a knuckle-curve that became one of the best pitches in baseball, generating a whiff rate of 55.6%. While I can’t downplay the walks (15.3% rate), Little is a high-volume reliever coming off a genuine breakout season, and he seems underrated heading into 2026. The floor here is a top-50 RP in holds leagues, and the ceiling is significantly higher.
Honorable Mention: Gabe Speier (SEA), Erik Sabrowski (CLE), Bryan King (HOU), Phil Maton (CHC), Fernando Cruz (NYY)
SPRPs (Yahoo-eligible)
Tyler Holton (DET) (8%)
An SPRP mainstay for a third season running, Tyler Holton possesses the highest floor among any reliever with said eligibility. While the Tigers’ bullpen has become more crowded with the recent additions of Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, you can expect an output from Holton similar to the average of his last couple of seasons: 15-20 holds, a handful of wins, and an ERA in the low-mid threes. It’s not remarkable, but it’s reliable.
Jack Dreyer (LAD) (3%)
Jack Dreyer emerged as a quality reliever in his rookie season in 2025. Not the overpowering type, Dreyer instead excelled by simply not getting hit hard (genius), with a 5.3% barrel rate and .200 xBA. His role last season was frustratingly fantasy-unfriendly as he opened a handful of games, but a healthy starting rotation should solve for that. If Dreyer slots into a more typical mid-high leverage relief role, his solid ratios should be paired with decent counting stats.
Tyler Wells (BAL) (1%)
Coming off a recent return from UCL surgery, Tyler Wells is headed back to the Baltimore bullpen in 2026. With Andrew Kittredge (IL-15) and Keegan Akin (IL-10) both on the shelf to start the season, Wells is currently the best bet to be the O’s top setup man ahead of new closer Ryan Helsley. There’s more reason for optimism here, as Wells was solid out of the pen as a rookie in 2021, and has had a quality spring (12:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio) pitching in brief outings. Of the three SPRPs highlighted here, Wells has the best chance to serve as a traditional, high-end holds league arm regardless of positional eligibility.
UPDATE: Wells gave up a solo shot but picked up a hold in the eighth inning of a 2-1 win on Thursday.
Honorable Mention: Drew Pomeranz (LAA), Cole Sands (MIN), Brad Lord (WSH), Kyle Hart (SD), José Buttó (SF)
