The All-Star break is over, the sunburn is fading, and the ninth inning picked up exactly where it left off. Mason Miller worked out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out disaster like it was a bullpen session. The Royals blew a save in the first game back, because some habits survive a four-day vacation. Let's get to the grades.
Baseball came back from Philadelphia and immediately reminded everybody why this column exists. Half the sport's ninth innings are now tangled up with the Aug. 3 trade deadline, which means the grades below are only half about performance this week. The other half is about zip codes. Mason Miller is fielding trade calls from a team that just went 3-9. Aroldis Chapman spent two weeks as the presumptive top reliever on the block, then Boston won nine straight and pulled him off it. Riley O'Brien is an All-Star closer on a team that, by its own beat reporters' accounting, should probably be shopping him anyway. None of that changes this week's numbers. All of it could change next week.
Let's get strapped in and ready for the rocky roller-coaster ride that the second half and trade deadline will present us.
Reviewing the Categories
In the weekly Closer Confidential column, we group closers, and committees, into three cohorts:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
Secure: 90 and Above |
Low-to-no risk; good results, strong underlying statistics, in a good bullpen situation |
Shaky: 80-89 |
Some doubt exists, often with inconsistent supporting skills and stats |
Seesaw: 79 and Below |
Committees and closers in trouble. The ninth inning is, or should be, in doubt. |
Secure Closers
Mason Miller opened the second half by inheriting a bases-loaded, nobody-out mess against the Royals on Friday and struck out the side to escape it, the kind of outing only he makes look routine. San Diego lost the game anyway in extras, and more to the point, Miller is reportedly drawing trade calls as the Padres (3-9 since late May) drift toward the deadline. The arm holds at 97. The address is the only question … Cade Smith leads all of baseball in saves and made his first All-Star team. Holds at 96 … Jhoan Duran was named NL Reliever of the Month for June and hasn't allowed a run since his only blown save of the season back on June 9. Climbs to 94 … Josh Hader is a perfect 10-for-10 in save chances with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP through Saturday, exactly the pitcher Houston paid for two years ago. Climbs to 93 … Bryan Baker is second in baseball in saves behind only Cade Smith, sitting on 25 with a 1.73 ERA as of the break, and nobody's talking about it because Tampa Bay never gets talked about. Climbs to 92 … Aroldis Chapman set the all-time strikeout record for a relief pitcher on July 3, and while that milestone is the headline, the more useful note is that Boston's nine-game winning streak heading into the break has cooled the trade chatter that was swirling around him. Climbs back to 90 … Raisel Iglesias closed the first half with his 19th save and an ERA still sitting comfortably below 1.10. Holds at 90 … Riley O'Brien is the real story of this tier: a 31-year-old who didn't have a real closer's job until Ryan Helsley left town last summer is now an NL All-Star with 24 saves and a 32-4 record in his appearances. Climbs into Secure at 90, though St. Louis' own beat writers have already floated him as the best chip the Cardinals could deal before Aug. 3.
Shaky Closers
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Louis Varland picked up his 20th save in a combined shutout of the White Sox on Friday and remains as automatic as a pitcher gets without cracking Secure. Holds at 89 … Tanner Scott is still the closer in Los Angeles, and Edwin Diaz's rehab assignment is now the only variable that matters. Dave Roberts said this week Diaz still needs to prove he can get major league hitters out before he gets the ninth inning back. Scott holds at 88 … Tyler Wells keeps climbing fast. He picked up his third save Friday, then Baltimore needed an emergency arm named Cam Sanders to finish an 11-inning win Saturday because Wells had already pitched; the O's have won six straight and are 8-3 in July. Climbs to 87 … Andres Munoz's ERA had come down to 4.32 with 16 saves through July 9, his best stretch of the season after a rough June. Holds at 86, pending a closer look at how he's carried that into the second half … Grant Taylor has taken the closer job in Chicago from a homer-prone Seranthony Dominguez and was sitting on a 2.96 ERA through his last check-in. Climbs to 85 … Jacob Latz made his first career All-Star team and picked up his 19th save Friday against Atlanta. Climbs to 84 … Paul Sewald has been automatic whenever Arizona actually gives him the ball; his 23rd save Friday looks like a 90-grade arm trapped in a middling team's volume. Climbs to 83 … Trevor Megill logged his 15th save for Milwaukee Friday and remains the steadiest name in this tier that nobody ever asks about. Holds at 81.
Seesaw Situations
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Emilio Pagan is back as Cincinnati's closer following his hamstring return in late June, and manager Terry Francona has been clear he intends to keep using him in the ninth regardless of results. The results have been uneven and the team around him was buried roughly 15 and a half games back entering the second half. Holds at 72.
Pittsburgh has completed the changing of the guard we flagged a few weeks back. Gregory Soto's ERA over his last month and a half sits north of 7.00, and Mason Montgomery has taken over the ninth inning outright. Montgomery enters this column at 68. Soto is now the next option, not the closer, and that sentence would have sounded absurd in April.
Alex Lange blew his first save as a Royal in the second half opener, a game Kansas City salvaged in extra innings on a different pitcher's ledger entirely. Drops to 62. Lucas Erceg remains buried in mop-up duty with no path back.
Yoendrys Gomez remains Minnesota's answer, for whatever that's worth in a bullpen that has already used eleven different pitchers in save situations this year. Holds at 60. Same warning as always: stay away unless you have exhausted every other option in a very deep league.
Jordan Romano has emerged as Colorado's preferred option since being added to the roster on July 4, converting both of his save chances and jumping ahead of Antonio Senzatela and Jimmy Herget in a bullpen that had been fully chaotic before he arrived. New entrant at 58. Nobody in this committee should be rostered outside of the deepest leagues, but Romano is now the first name to know if you're desperate.
One More Thing
The line that made me stop and rewatch the highlight: Cam Sanders, acquired by Baltimore from Pittsburgh for cash five days ago, made his Orioles debut Friday, struck out the side of a bases-loaded jam in his first appearance, and then closed out an 11-inning win Saturday for his first career save because Tyler Wells had already thrown that day. That's what a bullpen looks like when a team is playing meaningful baseball in July for the first time in a while. The Orioles are 8-3 this month and have now won six straight. None of that is fantasy-actionable yet, Sanders is not a name to roster, but it's the kind of depth chart chaos that tends to produce a real streaming option within a few weeks, and it's worth remembering his name before it happens.
Questions About Closers, Answered Confidentially
Who are the most secure closers heading into Week 17 of 2026 fantasy baseball?
Mason Miller, Cade Smith, Jhoan Duran, Josh Hader, Bryan Baker, Aroldis Chapman, Raisel Iglesias, Riley O'Brien, and Devin Williams make up the Secure tier heading into Week 17. Duran and Hader both moved up after dominant performances entering the All-Star break.
Is Kenley Jansen still the Detroit Tigers' closer?
The ninth-inning rankings place Kenley Jansen in the Seesaw tier with a confidence grade of 58, listing Keider Montero and Kyle Finnegan as the next options.
Is Bryan Baker a must-add closer right now?
Bryan Baker has climbed into the Secure tier with a 92 confidence grade after recording 25 saves and posting a 1.73 ERA at the break, ranking second in baseball in saves behind Cade Smith.
Who is the White Sox closer right now?
Grant Taylor has taken over the closer role in Chicago from Seranthony Dominguez. He has climbed to an 85 confidence grade after posting a 2.96 ERA through his latest stretch.
What is the latest on the Aroldis Chapman trade rumors?
Boston's nine-game winning streak entering the All-Star break has cooled the trade speculation surrounding Chapman, moving him back into the Secure tier with a 90 confidence grade. The situation could still change before the August 3 trade deadline.
Who is the Colorado Rockies closer now?
Jordan Romano has emerged as Colorado's preferred ninth-inning option after joining the club on July 4. He converted both of his save chances and moved ahead of Antonio Senzatela and Jimmy Herget in the bullpen hierarchy.
