6 Closer Competitions for Fantasy Baseball Players to Monitor

By now about half of you have already drafted and may or may not be comfortable with your relief pitcher selections. Did you draft a bona fide closer in earlier rounds or take a swing on a couple of arms with less defined roles hoping to strike gold?

No matter what your draft strategy looks like, having a couple of closers on your roster is important. If you missed out, or are about to draft, you can find an edge by understanding which teams have a competition for the ninth and selecting the right pitcher.

Baseball has started to trend away from the classic closer roles. A guy who only pitches the ninth and usually has some crazy to him. The closer by committee approach has become more popular which allows for more draftable arms, but lower ceilings.

Today I am going to work through the closer competitions and committees and tell you which pitcher I think carries the most value from each.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Options: Paul Sewald, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson

The Diamondbacks would not have any of these names as their preferred starter but injuries to A.J. Puk and Justin Martínez have left them with no choice. Considering the Diamondbacks are a good team who should create plenty of save opportunities selecting the right arm in the race is crucial.

Sewald was brought back this winter after missing most of 2024 and 2025 due to injury. He still produced swing and miss but maybe not to the level he did when he last held the role in Arizona. Ginkel has long been a name to monitor for saves but has yet to collect more than five in a season.

Thompson has been a fine pitcher as a middle reliever and I think that is the role that suites him best. He racks up groundballs at an elite rate, but doesn’t have the stuff you see from most closers. The Dbacks have not give Ginkel or Thompson much ninth inning opportunity, even with injuries, in the past and bringing back Sewald tells me he’s the preferred option.

Preferred Option: Sewald

Detroit Tigers

Options: Will Vest, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan

The Tigers competition might be the most difficult to predict. Vest stepped up last year closing out 23 games, Finnegan has 112 career saves, and Jansen is a ninth-inning legend chasing 500 career saves. Manager A.J. Hinch has leaned in the closer by committee, but will he this season?

The Tigers have shown a great deal of trust in Vest, but elected to bring back Finnegan and add Jansen in the same offseason. To me, Vest will still pitch leverage innings but I think the ninth will be less for him in 2026. While I like Finnegan and could see a path for him leading the team in saves, brining in Jansen makes the opportunity less.

Sure, Jansen is 38 years old and starting to decline, but I highly doubt he would agree to a deal that didn’t given him some assurance about pitching the ninth. At 476 career saves, I bet he is looking to reach 500 and the signing with the Tigers gives him a team that will have a late lead often.

Preferred Option: Jansen

Minnesota Twins

Options: Taylor Rogers, Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk

The Twins are walking into 2026 without a clear option as their closer and could truly be in a committee approach for the entire season. However, if one arm steps up, that approach could change quickly. None of the names on the list had more than five saves last season making the competition truly open.

Rogers has been a closer, twice reaching 30 saves, but has usually filled a set up role and lefty specialist in more recent seasons. After 2024, Sands was trending in the right direction but took a step back last season. He’s still a valuable arm but will need to look closer to his old self before being handed the ninth.

Topa and Funderburk are the lesser known names who impressed last season. I especially like what I saw from Funderburk who is a groundball pitcher who has enough quality stuff to improve his strikeout rate. But, for now, I think the Twins lean on the veteran in Rogers.

Preferred Option: Rogers

Los Angeles Angels

Options: Kirby Yates, Robert Stephenson, Jordan Romano, Hunter Strickland

Ben Joyce would be the preferred option but is still on the shelf due to an injury early last spring. Stephenson might be the second most likely to claim a spot but he is also injured, which has been a common theme since he signed his deal with the Angels.

Strickland is a long shot but one worth mentioning. I doubt he gets the first (or even second) look, but monitor him throughout the season. We all remember Romano’s dominant run with the Toronto Blue Jays, but he has taken major steps back in recent years. However, he does come with 113 career saves. It will take Yates looking less than ideal, which isn’t impossible.

Yates closed out 33 games with the Rangers in 2024 before joining the Dodgers and taking a lesser role in exchange for a World Series ring. I can’t say I blame him. He now joins the Angels and still has the nasty fastball/slider combo that should give him an early lead on taking the job.

Preferred Option: Yates

Athletics

Options: Hogan Harris, Mark Leiter Jr., Jack Perkins

Of all the teams listed the Athletics have the most wide open competition, in my opinion. Not only is it unclear who will take the ninth but there’s about eight arms in the mix. Some won’t even make the team!

Harris has been one of the more underrated lefties in baseball and gets righties out at a rate that makes closing a true possibility. The addition of Leiter was a good one for the A’s and brings a high floor righty with plenty of experience.

A young arm I would monitor is Perkins. He’s still trying to be a starter but flashed as a reliever last season has the best stuff of the group, in my opinion.

In terms of fantasy, the A’s should be treated as a waiver wire situation. Sit back and watch who gets the ninth early in the season and see if they can establish multiple appearances in a week. If you want a breakdown on each potential option, read this article.

Preferred Option: Harris

St. Louis Cardinals

Options: Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero, Matt Svanson, Ryne Stanek

The Cardinals are in a closer by committee situation but manager Oli Marmol did say it would “solve itself”. To me, that means the Cardinals would prefer to have one guy but the competition will bleed into the start of the season. Like the A’s, monitor who is getting early opportunities and see if they find any success.

Stanek getting some spring training buzz is nothing new but if you have watched him throughout his career, you’ll know his command will drive a manager crazy in the ninth. While I like Romero, I think a situational setup role is better for him. Plus, he could be traded this season and lose opportunities to collect saves.

The two names I would focus on are O’Brien and Svanson. O’Brien is a former starter who bounced around the minors before finding his role in the Cardinals organization. He pitched well in the minors before showing some promise in 48 innings pitching to a 2.06 ERA in 2025.

Svanson, a former Blue Jays farmhand, debuted last season with a dazzling 1.94 ERA, 2.72 FIP, and 10.14 K/9. He burst out of the gates with a sinker, sweeper, cutter pitch mix that produced a 29% strikeout rate and regularly avoided hard contact. His 3/4 arm slot and quick delivery has some deception that I like and think gives batters a different look that pitchers they will face earlier in the game.

Preferred Option: Svanson

The post Closer Competitions for Fantasy Baseball Players to Monitor appeared first on Just Baseball.