MLB Trade Deadline: Relievers Who Gained And Lost Value

Major trades across MLB have shuffled the closing pitcher landscape, creating new fantasy baseball opportunities—and landmines—down the stretch of the 2025 season.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (51) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

In a matter of two days, major league and fantasy rosters have had significant swings in gains and losses. Multiple closers have been traded to teams with a ninth-inning arm already on the roster, changing the balance of saves over the final two months of the season.

• The New York Yankees added RP David Bednar and RP Camilo Doval, pairing them with Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. This bullpen improves at the major league level, but the Bednar fantasy teams are now in the second position for saves in New York. Doval is now a fantasy cut as he has a minimal chance of saving games without an injury due to his command issues.
• The loss of Camillo Doval for the Giants should clear the path for Randy Rodriguez to close for San Francisco. I can’t dismiss that Ryan Walker won’t be a factor for saves in this bullpen.
• Dennis Santana moved to the top closing option for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Braxton Ashcraft falls into the dark horse category.
• The Padres acquired Mason Miller from the A’s, which should push Robert Suarez to the eighth inning in many more games. San Diego will still give him occasional chances, but he could be challenging fantasy carry if his usage aligns with early expectations.
• The Twins traded away their top four bullpen closing arms – Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, and Brock Stewart. Their ninth inning should be in the hands of Cole Sands for now.
• Philadelphia hopefully solved their closing issues by adding Jhoan Duran. Matt Strahm slides to the eighth inning, while Orion Kerkering waits another year to establish himself as a late-inning arm.
• The Cardinals dumped Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton at the trade deadline, leaving an open save competition for St. Louis. Gordon Graceffo may get the first save opportunity after their recent deals.
• Ryan Helsley slips into an eighth-inning role behind Edwin Diaz after the Mets acquired him. New York also added Tyler Rogers for bullpen depth.
• Jack Perkins should slide into the closing job for the Athletics. He has already picked up three saves over the past month.
• The Chicago Cubs' bullpen improved by adding Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge.
• The top closing option for the Tigers appears to be a coin toss between Will Vest and newly added Kyle Finnegan. Detroit should ride their guy while Finnegan looks only to be insurance while struggling of late.
• Based on 2025 success (2.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts over 34.0 innings), Brock Stewart may steal the closing job for the Dodgers until Tanner Scott returns. Alex Vesia will get some chances while Blake Treinen must regain his form before getting closing opportunities. At this point, Kirby Yates is only a wild card.
• Griffin Jax gives Tampa Bay an experienced late-inning arm while also providing some closing experience. He is a viable fantasy insurance policy for Pete Fairbanks.
• Texas took a flier on Phil Maton, who looks the closing part by 2025 stats (2.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts over 38.1 innings), but he only has seven major league saves over nine seasons in the majors.
• The Blue Jays picked up Seranthony Dominguez and Louis Varland with the hopes of shortening games for their starting pitchers. 
• Washington should give Jose Ferrer their closing job, but he has been up and down this year. Their relief options behind him look pretty weak, so his leash could be longer than he deserves.