What’s poppin, Razzpimples?

New season, but same ol’ JKJ, with my vivid-image-evoking greeting to all you Razzballers. I thank you kindly for choosing to spend time with my stream-of-consciousness ramblings on all things bullpens in the world of fantasy baseball.

Like clockwork, we enter a new year of baseball where the bullpen world hath been shooketh. You know how you go to that same Taco Bell over and over, but the crew changes, except for maybe that one super dedicated manager or that one person who rolls up the burrito just right and perfectly allocates the fillings every time? That’s what covering bullpens feels like.

Anyway. Don’t forget to keep that Razzball Bullpen Chart bookmarked. It’s been updated with the latest, and I’m usually quick to get it touched up once any type of news drops. And if you’re not a subscriber, I do highly, highly, highly recommend it. The tools are — how do you say? — bussin’. If’n you’re of the mind to consider it, you can find all the info here. I’m partial to the Relievonator Game Log Tool. So dope.

Welp. Let’s do it to it, pardner.

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AL West

Los Angeles Angels

Welp, we kick things off with a kick in the nuts — at least for you Ben Joyce truthers (looking at you, Harley! Sorry bro). The guy seemed finally destined for potential closer stardom…and then the Halos went and signed Kenley Jansen to a one-year, $10 million deal. That pretty much entirely halts Joyce’s breakout in the SV-only realms. Doesn’t do a lot to his SVHD stock at least. Another name to watch outta this pen is (tee hee take that space away) Ryan Zeferjahn, who looked quite good in his cup of coffee last year. Not really rosterable right now outside of AL-only SVHD formats, but keep him on the radar.

Houston Astros

Not a ton to say here. Ryan Pressly left for the good much, much better Chicago team, so all that really does is solidify Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu as the only two names worth a ding dang darn in Houston.

[Las Vegas] Athletics

I said I gotta put my money on Miller in the 2024 edition of this post. This year, I’m still putting my money on him, duh, but I’m also putting money on Michel Otanez. I ran a simple dumb metric — (K-BB%)+CSW% — and, among all RP with at least 30 IP, Otanez ranked #16 at 57.1%. Ya boi Miller topped the chart at 68.3%. Jose Leclerc joined the A’s pen as well. He might turn into something for fantasy purposes, but something tells me “nahhhhhhh.” Deeper formats, sure, but pass him over in most cases.

Seattle Mariners

The 2025 Mariners pen pretty much remains the same as the 2024 Mariners pen. You want Andres Munoz everywhere you can get him. As for holds, it’ll come down between Collin Snider and Gregory Santos. Whoever’s the healthiest until Matt Brash is a thing again. Right this very moment, the latter part of April is probably best-case for his return. Wouldn’t hold your breath.

Texas Rangers

While the Mariners pen stays stagnant, the Rangers pen is completely overhauled for the 2025 season. We’ve now got Chris Martin as the likely full-time(ish) closer, with Robert Garcia, Jacob Webb, and Hoby Milner vying for setup duties. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Garcia see a save here and there, either, but really the only guy I want in any non-AL-only formats is Martin. Still think he’s got the goods to be very close to elite, health permitting.

 

AL Central

Cleveland Guardians

Y’all already know. Emmanuel Clase will get his. Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith will, too. All three are elite SVHD Sheriffs.

Kansas City Royals

One big addition to mention here: Carlos Estevez. Figures to be lock into the closer role, bumping Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey to full-time holds territory. Estevez is the type of guy I will draft and pray about, all while waiting for the day he loses his job to Erceg. Fwiw, I really like Erceg in any SVHD format. I’m less excited about Harvey but still like him enough to roster him in the deeper leagues. Estevez has to be rostered everywhere in SV-only. Prayers up!

Detroit Tigers

The saves situation in Detroit is convoluted. Might see any one of Jason Foley, Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Will Vest, or ex-Yankee Tommy Kahnle in the 9th. Do yourself a favor and prioritize closers at least a little bit in your drafts so you don’t have to throw a dart here. If you made me pick one name for SVHD purposes, I’d go Holton. Did you know he was the #12 RP on the 6×6 Player Rater??

Minnesota Twins

The only new face who might ultimately matter is Danny Coulombe, whom I liked a lot while in Baltimore. Thing is, that guy Griffin Jax is in the way. That guy is capital E-L-I-T-E elite. Jhoan Duran will close and look to rebound from a “down” year in 2024 (he was still pretty fuggin good). Really just Jax and Duran matter here in my opinion, though. I’m kinda over Brock Stewart. He was fun for a while. And then a guy like Cole Sands can be great in some fun formats (I’m in a goofy RP-only league and he’s awesome because of Inherited Runners Stranded and BAA, etc.).

Chicago White Sox

Yuck. Horrible pen lol. I don’t have a clue who leads the team in saves. And it’d be, what, like 10 SV at most? Justin Anderson, Fraser Ellard, and Prelander Berroa are all potential candidates. Berroa has the most upside by a mile, he’s just got horrible control. Filthy, nasty, grody stuff that led to great Statcast metrics in all the categories you want in a reliever (xBA, avg. EV, Whiff%, K%, etc.). Buuuut then he had that ugly 15.7 BB%.

 

AL East

Toronto Blue Jays

Jeff Hoffman becomes the new must-own Blue Jays reliever. In all formats, at that. He shall be slept on no more, I do declare! Yimi Garcia left the Jays for Seattle at the trade deadline last year, and now he’s back with Toronto. Should be a great SVHD guy. Not sure I care much for Chad Green at this point in his career.

Baltimore Orioles

Not a new face, but he’s new compared to 2024: Felix Bautista will resume the closer role in Baltimore. He’s the caliber of guy you just go all-in on again despite recovery from TJS. He sounds like he’s right on track to be 100% for Opening Day. Here is a new face in Baltimore: Andrew Kittredge. Broke out as a seemingly endless fountain of holds with St. Louis in 2024, and I kinda think he’ll get back to that in 2025. He’ll have Seranthony Dominguez to contend with. Not sure Yennier Cano has too much trust from anyone anymore.

Tampa Bay Rays

Pete Fairbanks enters 2025 yet again as a quasi-sleeper pick. We all know who he is and what he’s capable of doing, but do you want to draft him or do you want to let someone else play Fairbanks Roulette? I’ll tell you whom I really want outta the Rays pen, and that’s one Mr. Edwin Uceta. Guy is my new RP love interest. I’m all in. Give me Uceta everywhere. In deeper SVHD formats, I can see Garrett Cleavinger and Manuel Rodriguez bringing some value.

Boston Red Sox

Two new [old] faces to watch in Boston: Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman. Hendriks has been around in Boston, just recovering from injury and cancer and just being a badass about it all. Chapman joins the fray, too, and both figure to see save chances. I’m treating them as a closer duo for the time being. Both still have some gas in the tank, but I’ve gotta be honest and say I think Chapman has more lasting value. The strikeout stuff is still really, really good: bro has combined for 201 K in the last two seasons. Ratios will not be ideal, but you’ve gotta pay attention to a guy with 100 K potential who’s gonna see some saves. Also saw that Garrett Whitlock is a candidate to potentially see some saves. I dunno about that one. We’ll see.

New York Yankees

Devin Williams is now the Yanks closer, and I simply foresee fantasy superstardom once again. Guy could have like 50 SV and 115 K or something, I swear. Figure Luke Weaver is setup man #1, with Ian Hamilton and maybe newcomer Fernando Cruz getting some holds here and there. Cruz was so, so sexy for a nice chunk of the ’24 season, then he just…sucked. Think batters just finally adjusted their approach against him. We’ll see if Cruz can adjust some things himself, but a season with 109 K as a reliever is no small achievement.

 

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks

So A.J. Puk was kinda quietly a stud last year. Justin Martinez had a mini-breakout season. Probably sharing the closing job at first? Kinda tough to gauge. Either way, give me either one of them (moreso Puk) in SVHD. After those two, should be Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson on your radar. To sum up: no changes for 2025.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Biiiig changes here. Because of course the Dodgers went out and got the best reliever on the market. They then went out and got maybe the second-best after he had an Undertaker-esque resurrection chapter in his storied career. Talking about Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, respectively, of course. Those two should see maybe all of the save chances for the Dodgers for the most part, and I do think Scott pulls away as the leader eventually. Lest you forget, Dave Roberts used Evan Phillips (who will probably start the season on the IL) as a full-time closer for the first part of the season. He then got hurt, so Roberts had to get creative. He kept on being creative the rest of the season, causing many a headache among fantasy owners and bullpen writers alike. Something in the depths of my dad gut tells me that Scott becomes a mostly full-time closer in 2025. I hope I’m not wrong. Scott/Yates should cook in all SVHD leagues, at any rate. Anywho, it’s looking like Phillips, Michael Kopech, and Brusdar Graterol (and does Graterol even matter anymore anyway?) are all pretty likely to be on the IL to start the season, leaving room for Blake Treinen to make a nice impact in the SVHD realm.

San Francisco Giants

Lol, I opened this blurb last year with “Camilo Doval will be one of fantasy’s best.” Ruh roh! Gonna go ahead and change that real quick for the 2025 update: Ryan Walker will be one of fantasy’s best. In that weird RP-only league I mentioned, Walker came in at a cool 100 points for his Fantrax Score. Only one to do that. Nothing about last season says regression to me. He’s a sinker-slider exclusively type, and he upped his sinker usage a tad in ’24 from ’23, which just set that slider up for even more success. I think there’s a chance Doval returns to form, just don’t think there will be many saves as part of that. Then there’s Tyler Rogers, who always finds a way to mass-produce holds (has 30+ in three of past four seasons) while giving solid ratios with hardly any strikeouts.

San Diego Padres

Remember all that Yuki Matsui hype that amounted to next to nothing? He’s not even on the bullpen chart anymore. Robert Suarez stole the show in ’24, finishing with 36 SV (and 1 HLD) and a 2.77 ERA. He’ll be set up by still-hella-elite Jason Adam and ’24 breakout stud Jeremiah Estrada. In SVHD, I want Adam first and it ain’t close. All three are gonna be pretty good options.

Colorado Rockies

Tyler Kinley probably closes for the Rockies. I know his numbers weren’t great overall, but he still had 26 SVHD. He was also a lot better after the AS Break. Think there’s potential for big fantasy returns considering his low cost. I’m also quite intrigued by setup men Seth Halvorsen and Luis Peralta. Both pitched just 12.1 IP each last year, though they looked damn good doing it. Halvorsen had 2 SV and 2 HLD, and Peralta had 2 HLD. They showed good strikeout upside and had sterling ratios. Halvorsen was better metrics-wise but did get hit really hard, while Peralta displayed some control issues. I don’t think there will be enough SVHD to go around in Colorado to warrant rostering at least Halvorsen/Peralta outside of deeper formats. And I wanna say “watch out for Kinley to lose his job!” buuuut it’s Colorado — they ain’t gonna do what makes sense.

 

NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers

Just one notable change to this pen: the absence of Airbender. Which really was a huge chunk of 2024 anyway. There are reports of Trevor Megill being behind in his Spring Training ramp up. Unclear what the issues are. Sounds minor for now…I don’t like any whisperings of injury when it comes to pitchers nowadays. Jared Koenig, Bryan Hudson, and Joel Payamps should see hold chances.

St. Louis Cardinals

Finally! Ryan Helsley had the season I knew he always could have. If not for Clase’s disgustingly good ratios, Helsley would have topped the charts as RP #1 on the Player Rater. With Kittredge outta the way, guess that means Jojo Romero is the best holds option for now. Might be Ryan Fernandez and/or Matt Liberatore getting some looks as well. Not terribly excited about any of those dudes, though. Not a good bullpen at all after Helsley, I’m afraid. Great job, Mo!!

Chicago Cubs

One big new face at Wrigley: Ryan Pressly. Formerly one of my favorite closers to roster, as he chugged saves and wasn’t ever very expensive. Might just get back to being that way this year. Porter Hodge busted out in the latter of half ’24 and looked well on his way to bona fide badassery as a fantasy closer for 2025. Pressly halts that bandwagon, or at least slows it down considerably. But that’s only in SV-only — I like Hodge a lot more than Pressly in SVHD. Better in every way. Reckon I don’t give much of a dusty fart about any other names here.

Pittsburgh Pirates

David Bednar took a couple big steps back in 2024. Pitching style and his age just don’t always agree, methinks. Gotta roster him for the saves, still. For holds, guess I’d want Colin Holderman first, then Dennis Santana. Couple new faces that might enter the mix at some point: Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza.

Cincinnati Reds

Soooo yeah, thought Alexis Diaz would cook. More like got cooked, amirite? All said and done, it wasn’t a terrible 2024: 28 SV and okay ratios. Still in his prime at age 28, mayhap we see a rebound season? Taylor Rogers is in Cincy now and could very well become a really nice sleepy SVHD pick. Maybe even Scott Barlow? I like both more than I like Emilio Pagan, I’ll say that much.

 

NL East

Atlanta Braves

You know what Raisel Iglesias will do. Dude is like the Energizer Bunny of closers. Joe Jimenez is hurt, but once he’s back he’ll be the top setup option after a great ’24 campaign. In the interim, I like both Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee.

Miami Marlins

Nothing new here. Probably Calvin Faucher closing and Jesus Tinoco setting up. Couldn’t care less about anyone else.

New York Mets

Most impactful addition to this bullpen is A.J. Minter. Former Braves stud stays in the division and probably acts as setup option Numero Uno to Edwin Diaz. Don’t sleep too hard on Dedniel Nunez, though. I’m a big fan of his; he’s a damn sight better than the likes of Reed Garrett and Jose Butto. He missed time last year with fatigue issues, though, so it’ll be muy interesante to see how he’s deployed in ’25. Jump on him at the first sign of high-leverage, at the very least.

Washington Nationals

As things are at the moment, I would figure Jorge Lopez and Jose Ferrer and Derek Law battle it out for saves for the Nats. I’m 0% excited about those three, but surely someone pulls ahead as favorite for thus fantasy relevant. Colin Poche was added as a non-roster invite. Probably makes the team and could enter the mix himself. But until someone establishes himself as a steady source of saves, I’m just avoiding this situation.

Philadelphia Phillies

Jordan Romano is now the closer for the Phillies. Last year was atrocious, but I don’t think you sign someone like that and not let him take the helm. Don’t exactly trust him to hold the gig, however, especially with sexy af Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering breathing down his neck. I really, really, really, like those two in all SVHD formats. Like, a lot. Especially Strahm. He was otherworldly in ’24, and Kerkering still has all that immense upside. In much deeper formats, maybe Jose Alvarado has a place.

 

 

Free Agents Who Could Still Shake Things Up A Lil Bit

David Robertson — really good in ’24 and still has lots to offer; very likely a high-leverage arm wherever he ends up

Jalen Beeks — had some success in high-leverage lefty-specialist roles in ’24

Adam Ottavino — tons of high-leverage experience, and that always matters to MLB managers

Andrew Chafin — ditto, especially being southpaw

Brooks Raley — ditto again

Craig Kimbrel — risky, but can still strike ya azz out and is of course a future HOFer

Hector Neris — fell off in a big way last year but I’m not 100% convinced he’s that bad

Kyle Finnegan — dude has a lotta SV to his name the last two years (66)

 

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading. Leave me a comment below so I feel all warm and fuzzy.

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