Waiver Relief: Week 7

Entering our seventh week, bullpen depth charts are mercifully beginning to settle. Most of this week’s pertinent closer news is injury-related rather than the typical Benny Hill Theme-backed shuffling we’ve grown accustomed to this season.

That being said, it’s a brief issue this time out; I’ll run through those bullpen updates and provide my top-10 rankings for available closers, as well as setup men and SPRPs for holds and points leagues.

(stats updated through Thursday, 5/7)

 

Closer News (by team)

 

BAL

Ryan Helsley was placed on the injured list last Friday with right elbow inflammation. As bad as that sounds, Helsley shouldn’t miss much more than the minimum time allotment. In the meantime, Rico Garcia, who’s having as good a season as any reliever not named Mason Miller, should see the lion’s share of Oriole save opportunities. Garcia was already a must-roster in any holds league, and now becomes a worthy temporary add universally until Helsley returns.

 

CIN

The already-embattled Emilio Pagán added injury to insult, exiting Monday’s game with a hamstring strain that should sideline him for a couple of months. The two contenders to take over as Reds closer are Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft. I’ve covered this dynamic a few times already this season, but for now, I’m giving Santillan the edge for saves. Ashcraft is the better pitcher and certainly more closer-like than the relatively soft-throwing Santillan. Nonetheless, Santillan’s regular eighth-inning usage makes him seem like the next man in line. He finds himself in my closer rankings below, albeit entering near the bottom.

(As an aside, here’s holding out hope for Tejay Antone, once an elite reliever in his own right, who returned from his third Tommy John surgery this week.)

 

LAA

Kirby Yates returned from the injured list this week, though he has yet to see his first action of 2026. Ryan Zeferjahn picked up a save on Tuesday, becoming the only Angel still on the roster to do so (farewell, Jordan Romano). Zeferjahn certainly fits a closer’s profile, with a 114 Stuff+ rating, 31.5% Whiff rate, and 30.1% strikeout rate this season.

For now, both Yates and Zeferjahn land on my watchlist, with neither being more than a fringe speculative option in standard 12-team leagues. Given the choice, I’d go with Yates, as he has a better chance of landing cleanly in a full-time closer role if he performs adequately.

 

PIT

Gregory Soto may be running away with closing duties in Pittsburgh. Dennis Santana has fallen on tough times of late and has yet to see a save chance since a four-run blowup against the Cardinals on April 27th. Soto, meanwhile, has continued a season in which he’s been utterly dominant, allowing runs in just two of his nineteen appearances, backed by a 2.52 SIERA and 25.4 K-BB%. He picked up back-to-back saves against Arizona this week, and is rapidly rising in my closer rankings below.

 

SF

Soon after becoming arguably the most trusted arm in San Francisco’s bullpen, Erik Miller hit the injured list on Monday with a lower back strain. All indications are that Miller should be able to return to action as soon as he’s eligible; he’s under-rostered at 5%, and is a worthy IL stash in most leagues. In Miller’s absence, expect Caleb Kilian, who landed his first save on Monday, to lead the Giants in save opportunities. While Kilian may not be as good as his 1.13 ERA suggests (98.6% strand rate, .171 BABIP), he’s separated himself from both incumbent closer Ryan Walker and top challenger Keaton Winn, given recent performance. Kilian has a chance to cement himself in the closer role before Miller returns if he keeps things up over the next couple of weeks.

 

Saves – Top 10 (<=60%-rostered Yahoo)

Rising names among closers this week include Tanner Scott, Gregory Soto, and Jacob Latz.

1. Bryan Baker – TB (58%)
2. Tanner Scott – LAD (43%)
3. Lucas Erceg – KC (58%)
4. Gregory Soto – PIT (30%)
5. Seranthony Domínguez – CHW (56%)
6. Jacob Latz – TEX (31%)
7. Gus Varland – WSH (10%)
8. Jack Perkins – ATH (26%)
9. Tony Santillan – CIN (26%)
10. Caleb Kilian – SF (5%)

The Watchlist: Graham Ashcraft (CIN), Kirby Yates (LAA), Ryan Zeferjahn (LAA), Antonio Senzatela (COL), Kyle Finnegan (DET)
Temporary Adds: Rico Garcia (BAL), Bryan King (HOU), Calvin Faucher (MIA)
IL Stash: Erik Miller (SF), Ben Joyce (LAA)

 

Holds – Top 10 (<=5%)

Rising names among setup men this week include Mason Montgomery, Kevin Kelly, and Kyle Hurt.

1. Brooks Raley – NYM (2%)
2. Keaton Winn – SF (5%)
3. Daniel Lynch IV – KC (3%)
4. Mason Montgomery – PIT (2%)
5. Yennier Cano – BAL (1%)
6. Braydon Fisher – TOR (3%)
7. Jack Dreyer – LAD (3%)
8. Brent Headrick – NYY (1%)
9. Kevin Kelly – TB (3%)
10. Kyle Hurt – LAD (<1%)

 

SPRPs – Top 10 (Yahoo-eligible)

Rising names among SPRPs this week include Ian Seymour, Antonio Senzatela, and Didier Fuentes.

1. Jack Dreyer – LAD (3%)
2. Jacob Latz – TEX (31%)
3. Jack Perkins – ATH (26%)
4. Keaton Winn – SF (5%)
5. Ian Seymour – TB (7%)
6. Kai-Wei Teng – HOU (2%)
7. Ben Brown – CHC (6%)
8. Antonio Senzatela – COL (10%)
9. Grant Taylor – CHW (7%)
10. Didier Fuentes – ATL (6%)

NOTE: Tyler Wells (BAL) was bizarrely sent down to Triple-A on Saturday; he’ll reenter this list as soon as he’s called back up.