Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Relievers With Save Upside

Last week on the waiver wire in the high-stakes community, many game managers were searching for closing crumbs. Many free agent bids were much higher than expected. Here’s a look at the top three relievers of interest.

David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Tigers shipped Bednar to AAA after three disappointing games (three runs, four hits, a home run, two walks, and a strikeout over one inning). His struggles came on the heels of a disastrous 2024 (5.77 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts over 57.1 innings). He allowed nine home runs while blowing seven of his 30 save chances.

Bednar is close to returning to the majors after tossing three no-hit shutout innings at AAA with no walks and four strikeouts. His fastball (96.6 mph) aligns with his previous resume, while featuring a curveball as his second-best pitch and mixing in a low-volume split-finger pitch.

Jason Foley, Detroit Tigers

Foley failed to make the Tigers’ opening day roster after posting a 6.14 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 7.1 innings in spring training. He did have a bump in strikeouts (10) while not issuing a walk. His right arm has been on point over his five appearances at AAA (no runs, one hit, no walks, and nine strikeouts over 6.2 innings).

In the offseason, Foley worked on a split-finger fastball, which he has thrown about 20% of the time in the minors this year. He brings a hard sinker (95.8 mph) while featuring a slider as his second-best pitch. Before 2024, Foley had a groundball rate well over 55.0% with Detroit but struggled to strike out batters (6.7 per nine innings).

Foley pitched two shutout innings on April 12th with no baserunners and three strikeouts. He appears close to returning to the majors, and his new swing-and-miss pitch paired with a high groundball rate may lead to surprising success in the ninth inning for the Tigers. Last year, Foley converted 28 of his 32 save tries while having a regression in his command (3.0 K/9).

Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers

After one news blurb about a potential knee issue for Trevor Megill after a poor outing (three runs, two hits, and three walks over one-third of an inning), the high-stakes market flocked to Uribe with their FAAB bidding on Sunday.

Over his first 8.1 innings, he allowed one run, five hits, and three walks with nine strikeouts and five holds. Uribe’s sinker has triple-digit upside (98.7 mph in 2025) while offering a swing-and-miss slider.

Abner Uribe, Dirty 88mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/8z6tJ2jIeE
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 13, 2025

Megill hasn’t pitched since April 12th, so it will be interesting to see if he does need a stint on the injured list. For the fantasy teams looking for saves, Uribe is a viable pickup for someone who wants to be ahead of the results market.

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