Waiver Relief: Week 11

In last week’s Waiver Relief, I highlighted a select few of my top RP pickups in various formats. A couple of those picks have since had interesting weeks, along with the usual shuffling of bullpen roles. To cover what’s needed, I’m returning to the format of updating all closer news across the league, and providing my top-10 rankings for saves, holds, and SPRPs on the wire.

(stats updated through Thursday, 6/4)

 

Closer News (by team)

 

CIN

It’s time to give up on finding a fantasy-relevant Cincy closer in Emilio Pagán’s absence. Since Pagán landed on the injured list a month ago, four different Reds have picked up a save, and none more than once. In that time, frontrunner Tony Santillan pitched to a 14.04 ERA, while Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson both followed Pagán to the IL. For extremely deep leagues – I’m talking 15+ team NL-only type beat – maybe take a chance on Sam Moll, the only healthy reliever in this bullpen who’s actually had a good season. Otherwise, keep Pagán in an IL slot and hope he comes back in a month looking more like last year’s version.

 

DET

Closer Kenley Jansen remains on the shelf with pelvic inflammation and should be out for another few weeks. I previously recommended temporary adds of Kyle Finnegan and Drew Anderson, in order, though I tempered this by highlighting Finnegan’s struggles (16:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio). Fittingly, those two were the first to see – and blow – save chances respectively in Jansen’s absence. On Monday it was Will Vest instead picking up his first save of the year, in a turbulent five-out affair that did at least include a clean ninth inning. That’s enough for me to say that Vest has the edge for Detroit’s save chances until Jansen returns, even if that’s not a lot to get excited about. Vest is a viable short-term pickup in 12-team leagues where desperate for saves.

 

HOU

Josh Hader made his first appearance in 2026, returning from the injured list and promptly securing his first save on Wednesday night. It might have been worth holding on to another Astro reliever until we saw more of Hader coming off a long IL stint, but none seized the opportunity enough to be worth stashing. Feel free to drop Bryan King et al, now that Hader is back in the saddle.

 

KC

Following a disastrous run of three consecutive blown saves, Lucas Erceg has been removed from the closer role in Kansas City. “So it’s Daniel Lynch IV’s turn, right? …Right?” I say, as Royals manager Matt Quatraro smirks back at me. Instead, Alex Lange picked up back-to-back saves following Erceg’s demotion, though he allowed a pair of baserunners in each. On Thursday, the order went Lynch – Matt Strahm – Lange in the final three innings. Maybe that’s the new formula, or maybe that order gets jumbled randomly and even Erceg still factors in. I’m willing to bet on something closer to the latter; nonetheless, it’s Lange who surprisingly leads all Royals on my closer watchlist below.

 

MIL

Bouncing back from a horrific April, Trevor Megill has emphatically retaken the closer role in Milwaukee. Megill had as good a May as any reliever in baseball, notching four saves and three holds while putting up a 14:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 10 innings. He’s the only Brewer with a save over the last two weeks. Megill’s temporary replacement, Abner Uribe, is safely droppable in standard leagues.

 

MIN

Twins reliever Yoendrys Gómez has emerged as a legitimate weapon. Over the past month, Gomez has picked up three saves and five holds, striking out 16 batters while allowing just one earned run over 12.2 innings. While Gomez’s season-long peripherals (4.33 SIERA, 11.5 K-BB%, 24.3% whiff rate) provide little reason for excitement, an overhauled pitch mix provides the reason for Gomez’s recent success. After he was designated for assignment by the Rays, the Twins acquired Gomez on May 6. Since then, he’s essentially thrown nothing but his two best pitches, a four-seam fastball (123 Stuff+) and sweeping slider (121). This puts us starkly in the middle of a timeline where a pitcher improves their arsenal by going from the Rays to the Twins.

For fantasy purposes, bear in mind that the Twins have been without a set closer since Jhoan Duran left town and seem intent on remaining that way. So, while Gomez has rapidly climbed my SPRP rankings, he remains but a low-tier option for saves, barring a significant change in Minnesota’s bullpen methodology.

 

SF

Last week, I put myself in a lose-lose spot, featuring Caleb Kilian here while simultaneously clamoring for his regression. Unfortunately, it was those who took the recommendation who really lost. Kilian’s return to the mean came all at once in a five-run blowup against the Rockies last Friday. Since that implosion, Kilian’s usage has been spotty, though he did enter mid-ninth to pick up the save in Thursday’s 12-9 win over the Brewers. This may have been, however, due to the unavailability of Keaton Winn, who notched a five-out save the previous evening. Winn continues to be the Giants’ best reliever, and while that’s something of a “one-eyed man” situation, he has been genuinely good. His elite surface-level stats (2.30 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) are backed by solid peripherals, especially in terms of quality of contact (.200 xBA, 26.8% HardHit rate).

Going forward, I expect a relatively even split for save chances between Kilian and Winn. Seeing as we’ve yet to see Winn have a steady run at the job, I’ll keep Kilian ranked just a bit higher. The next few appearances should provide clarity, even if the clarity is that there is none.

 

WSH

Clayton Beeter picked up the Nationals’ only two saves this week, though he followed those by entering in the seventh inning and taking the loss against the Marlins on Wednesday. Beeter continues to operate in a very Beeter-like fashion; since returning from the injured list two weeks ago, he’s struck out nine batters but walked five in his 6.2 innings. That lack of command never ends up being sustainable for a closer, even when paired with decent stuff. Since top challenger Gus Varland has rendered himself irrelevant of late, I’d keep an eye on Orlando Ribalta. With Brad Lord operating in a flexible, multi-inning role, Ribalta is the only Washington reliever putting up decent numbers that might be in contention for saves if Beeter stumbles further. For now, Beeter makes for a low-end closer in 12-team leagues, and Ribalta merits a spot on deep-league watchlists.

 

Saves – Top 10 (<=60%-rostered Yahoo)

Tanner Scott falls a few spots this week; Yoendrys Gómez enters for the first time.

1. Jacob Latz – TEX (38%)
2. Gregory Soto – PIT (49%)
3. Seranthony Domínguez – CHW (54%)
4. Tanner Scott – LAD (48%)
5. Kirby Yates – LAA (8%)
6. Yoendrys Gómez – MIN (11%)
7. Antonio Senzatela – COL (18%)
8. Clayton Beeter – WSH (15%)
9. Hogan Harris – ATH (11%)
10. Caleb Kilian – SF (7%)

The Watchlist: Keaton Winn (SF), Alex Lange (KC), Daniel Lynch IV (KC),  Orlando Ribalta (WSH), Sam Moll (CIN)
Temporary Adds: Rico Garcia (BAL), Will Vest (DET)

 

Holds – Top 10 (<=5%)

Rising names among setup men this week include Colin Holderman, Gabe Speier, and Will Klein.

1. Daniel Lynch IV – KC (5%)
2. Colin Holderman – CLE (2%)
3. Kyle Hurt – LAD (3%)
4. Gabe Speier – SEA (3%)
5. Brooks Raley – NYM (4%)
6. Sam Bachman – LAA (2%)
7. Braydon Fisher – TOR (4%)
8. Jack Dreyer – LAD (3%)
9. Will Klein – LAD (3%)
10. Brent Headrick – NYY (2%)

 

SPRPs – Top 10 (Yahoo-eligible)

Rising names among SPRPs this week include Braydon Fisher, Yoendrys Gómez, and Jovani Morán.

1. Jacob Latz – TEX (38%)
2. Grant Taylor – CHW (13%)
3. Braydon Fisher – TOR (4%)
4. Keaton Winn – SF (9%)
5. Yoendrys Gómez – MIN (11%)
6. Jack Dreyer – LAD (3%)
7. Antonio Senzatela – COL (18%)
8. Jovani Morán – BOS (<1%)
9. Bryan Hudson – CHW (2%)
10. Didier Fuentes – ATL (7%)