There is only one more day until the trade deadline, and the reliever market will remain active. During Sunday’s games, relievers recorded nine wins across the 15-game slate and secured seven saves. Two more trades were made with relievers; Tampa Bay was involved in each, covered below. Our three takeaways focused on three struggling relievers and how fantasy managers should handle them.

Closer CliffsNotes

• Paul Sewald (ARI) suffered his fourth blown save, all in July outings. He gave up two doubles and an earned run while recording three strikeouts against Pittsburgh. Justin Martinez got tagged with his second loss. He allowed four runs (three earned) on a hit and two walks in the tenth.
• Yennier Cano (BAL) bent but did not break, securing his fourth save. He navigated around three hits and an earned run in the ninth. He has a 5.34 ERA in ninth-inning outings with a 37:12 K:BB through 32 innings.
• Fernando Cruz (CIN) suffered his eighth loss and third blown save. He issued a one-out walk, followed by a single and another walk, but threw a wild pitch during a strikeout, scoring the game-tying run. He finished with a hit, two earned runs, and two walks while recording two strikeouts during his two-thirds of an inning.
• Emmanuel Clase (CLE) shut the door on his 33rd save, tying Ryan Helsley for the most saves in the majors this season.
• Luis García (LAA) recorded his fourth save with a clean ninth, preserving a two-run win over Oakland. Many fantasy managers hope it’s his last time with the Angels since he’s on the trade block.
• Devin Williams (MIL) returned from the injured list with a scoreless ninth, working around a hit and issuing a walk while striking out one.
• Aroldis Chapman (PIT) benefited from his team’s rally and collected his third win after retiring the side in the bottom of the ninth.
• Andrés Muñoz (SEA) notched his 18th save with a scoreless ninth despite issuing a walk.
• Camilo Doval (SFG) appeared for a third straight game and held on for his 20th save. He allowed two hits and an earned run while striking out one against Colorado.
• Ryan Helsely (STL) worked a scoreless ninth despite giving up a hit and collected his fourth win on a walk-off Paul Goldschmidt home run in the bottom of the inning.
• Pete Fairbanks (TBR) recorded his 20th save with a scoreless ninth, yielding a hit and striking out one against the Reds.
• Zach Pop (TOR) not only posted his first career save, but he’s also the fourth Canadian-born player to have done so for the Blue Jays. He worked 1.1 scoreless frames and stranded a runner in the eighth.
• Dylan Floro (WSH) suffered his third loss. He gave up the Goldschmidt walk-off in St. Louis.

Roster Updates and Hierarchy Changes

San Diego Padres – Striking while the team’s riding a seven-game win streak, A.J. Preller moved three of his top-ranked prospects to Tampa Bay for Jason Adam. This strengthens the leverage ladder appreciably but at a high price in this reliever market. 

Adjusted Hierarchy: Robert Suarez | Jason Adam | Jeremiah Estrada

Tampa Bay Rays – Continuing its revamping of the roster for 2025 and beyond, the Rays traded Isaac Paredes in a four player deal to the Cubs and potentially a closer of the future in Hunter Bigge. He will be worth tracking, especially if the team moves Pete Fairbanks before Tuesday’s deadline passes. Stay tuned. 

Updated Hierarchy: Pete Fairbanks | Colin Poche | Kevin Kelly

Please reference our Trade Deadline Tracker for all the moves involving relievers, which updates as trades occur.

Three Takeaways

• Sewald blows his fourth save: It’s been a tale of two seasons for the Diamondbacks closer. Paul Sewald entered July with a 0.54 ERA and 0.48 WHIP, being scoreless in 17 of 18 appearances since his activation from the injured list. However, July has not been nearly as kind to his fantasy managers. He’s converted five of nine save opportunities with a 1.86 WHIP and allowed at least a run in six of his 11 outings. One can look at his 13:1 K:BB (25.5 K-BBB percentage) and 3.15 SIERA for a positive outlook, but he’s not been the same reliever since his trade to Arizona. In fact, over the last statistical year, he owns a 1.18 WHIP with a 3.58 SIERA and converted 29 of 35 saves. His swinging strike has been trending down while his contact rate has risen, which should not be ignored for the rest of the season. He’s not on the hot seat yet, but these trends must be monitored closely, especially following the trade for A.J. Puk:

• “The General” on the hot seat?: In Sunday’s non-save appearance, James McArthur allowed three hits, including a two-run home run (Patrick Wisdom) and three earned runs. This marks his second straight outing when he gave up multiple runs. Through 39 games this year, he’s given up multiple hits in 15, a home run in seven, and multiple runs in seven (six with multiple earned runs). He’s yielded eight earned runs in his last two games on seven hits. Hope lies in his 3.48 SIERA versus his current 5.44 ERA, but the 1.45 WHIP does not lie. His K-BB percentage this season sits 10 percentage points below last year, and the recent spike in hard-hit percentage cannot be ignored. Once Hunter Harvey‘s back is healthy, he may start getting save chances:

• Time to drop Foley?: Taking over in the ninth with his team down by three, Jason Foley allowed a single, a walk, and a double before his removal, which resulted in two earned runs without recording an out. During his last seven outings, he’s entered only this contest in the ninth, in the eighth five times, and in the seventh once. He last recorded a save on July 10, and he’s putting too much traffic on the bases, illustrated by his 2.43 WHIP this month. His sinker has produced a .461 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) and only a 42.9 ground ball percentage in July. Through 36.1 innings, he’s posted a minuscule 7.5 K-BB percentage and a rising line drive percentage, making him risky business in high-leverage situations:

Vulture Save Options for Monday, July 29

• Gregory Santos (SEA): Muñoz and Yimi García have appeared in back-to-back games.
• Porter Hodge (CHC): Neris has pitched in two straight.

Vulture Save Options for Tuesday, July 30

• A.J. Puk (ARI): If Sewald pitches today, it will be consecutive outings and three of the last four.

American League – Game Recaps

Baltimore Orioles – Hanging on for his fourth save, Yennier Cano dealt with traffic while finishing a two-run win over the Padres. He gave up consecutive singles leading off the ninth, induced a soft lineout, then another single by Luis Arraez, loading the bases. On a grounder, the runner was forced out at second, but no double play was turned, scoring an earned run, and Cano bore down, getting a game-ending groundout by Jake Cronenworth. He threw 30 pitches (22 strikes – 73.3 Strike%) and did not induce a whiff.

• Seranthony Domínguez retired the side and recorded a strikeout against the Padres’ 4-5-6 lineup pocket for his fifth hold.
• Cionel Pérez collected his second win, tossing a clean seventh.

Hierarchy remains (for now): Craig Kimbrel | Yennier Cano | Cionel Pérez

Cleveland Guardians – Moving into a tie for the major league lead in saves, Emmanuel Clase nailed down his 33rd with a clean ninth in Philadelphia, recording one strikeout during a one-run win. He threw seven pitches (71.4 Strike%) and induced one whiff (14.3 SwStr%). He’s riding a six-game scoreless streak and has converted 20 straight save chances since May 20, with 18 strikeouts versus four walks through 26 innings.

• Scott Barlow retired the side in the eighth for his 19th hold.
• Hunter Gaddis worked around two walks for a scoreless seventh, securing his 23rd hold.
• Tim Herrin stranded a runner and retired his only batter in the sixth, collecting his fourth win.

Hierarchy remains: Emmanuel Clase | Hunter Gaddis | Scott Barlow

Los Angeles Angels – Nailing down his fourth save, Luis García retired the side against Oakland’s 8-9-1 lineup pocket. He threw nine pitches (55.6 Strike%) without a whiff. This marks his first save since May 22, and he’s on a modest six-game scoreless streak. If he’s not traded, he may remain the closer for the Angels, but he’s firmly on the block.

• Ben Joyce notched his fifth hold, firing two clean frames and recording three strikeouts on 25 pitches (64 Strike%) with two whiffs. He’s been scoreless over his last 15 outings, spanning 19.1 innings, with 18 strikeouts against nine walks.
• José Quijada secured his fist hold, striking out the side in the sixth.
• Roansy Contreras collected his second win, logging 1.1 clean innings and striking out one.

Updated Hierarchy: Luis García | Ben Joyce | Roansy Contreras

Seattle Mariners – Capping a sweep in Chicago, Andrés Muñoz worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth, navigating around a two-out Andrew Benintendi walk with a game-ending Paul DeJong flyout for his 18th save. Muñoz threw 20 pitches (55 Strike%) and induced one whiff. He’s been scoreless in all nine outings in July and converted five of six save opportunities.

• Yimi García recorded his 12th hold with a clean eighth on an efficient seven pitches.
• Austin Voth secured his tenth hold, retiring both batters in the seventh, one via strikeout.

Hierarchy remains: Andrés Muñoz | Yimi García | Gregory Soto

Tampa Bay Rays – On his bobblehead day, Pete Fairbanks recorded his 20th save with a scoreless ninth while preserving a one-win lead. He allowed a two-out Jake Fraley single before a game-ending strikeout. Fairbanks threw nine pitches (88.9 Strike%) without a whiff. He’s converted all seven save chances in July and been scoreless over his last three appearances.

• Garrett Cleavinger retired the side and struck out one in the top of the eighth ahead of his team’s two-run rally at the bottom of the inning, resulting in his seventh win.
• Tyler Zuber logged two scoreless frames, working around a hit and a walk while striking out two.
• Manuel Rodrìguez tossed a scoreless fifth. 

Hierarchy remains: Pete Fairbanks | Colin Poche | Kevin Kelly

Toronto Blue Jays – With two runners on and two outs, Zach Pop was summoned with a four-run lead and the game-tying run in the on-deck circle. He induced an inning-ending groundout by Jonah Heim and then returned for a clean ninth, recording his first career save. He threw 16 pitches (62.5 Strike%) and induced one whiff versus the Rangers’ 8-9-1-2 hitters.

• Génesis Cabrera allowed four hits and two earned runs during his two-thirds of the eighth, snapping his 13-game scoreless streak.

Updated Hierarchy: Chad Green | Erik Swanson | Zach Pop

National League – Game Recaps

Arizona Diamondbacks – In a tumultuous end to its four-game win streak, Bryce Jarvis let two of three inherited runners score in the top of the tenth on a two-RBI Ke’Bryan Hayes single and issued a walk during two-thirds of an inning.

• Justin Martinez suffered his second loss. He opened the tenth by allowing a bunt single, issuing a walk, and induced a fielder’s choice groundout, retiring the “place” runner, but he uncorked a wild pitch, scoring a run. After an intentional walk (Oneil Cruz), he hit Alika Williams with a pitch, forcing in a run and his removal from the contest. He finished with four runs (three earned) during his one-third inning.
• Paul Sewald was tagged with his fourth blown save, giving up two hits, including a game-tying RBI double by Joey Bart, and striking out three in the ninth. He’s only converted five of nine save opportunities this month and allowed at least a run in five of 11 games.
• Ryan Thompson notched his 19th hold with a clean eighth and recorded a strikeout.
• A.J. Puk secured his eighth hold while striking out the side in the seventh.

Hierarchy remains: Paul Sewald | A.J. Puk | Kevin Ginkel

Milwaukee Brewers – Appearing for the first time this season, Devin Williams navigated around a two-out infield single and a walk with a game-ending groundout by Josh Bell. He threw 24 pitches (13 strikes – 54.2 Strike%) and induced two whiffs.

• Hoby Milner retired the side and recorded two strikeouts in the eighth.
• Joel Payamps gave up a hit, an earned run, and a walk while striking out two in the seventh.
• Jakob Junis collected his fourth win. He tossed two scoreless frames, scattering two hits and striking out one.

Updated Hierarchy: Devin Williams | Trevor Megill | Elvis Peguero

Pittsburgh Pirates – Handed a four-run lead in the bottom of the tenth, Colin Holderman barely preserved his team’s win. He allowed three hits, including two home runs, resulting in three runs (two earned) while finishing a one-run win in Arizona.

• Aroldis Chapman collected his third win after tossing a clean ninth with the score tied ahead of his team’s rally in the tenth. He threw six pitches (83.3 Strike%) with one whiff (16.7 SwStr%).
• David Bednar appeared for the first time in six days in the eighth with his team down one. He recorded a scoreless inning, issuing a walk and striking out one, throwing 18 pitches (50 Strike%) without a whiff.

Hierarchy remains: David Bednar | Aroldis Chapman | Colin Holderman

San Francisco Giants – Just another white-knuckle ride in high leverage with Camilo Doval. He escaped with his 20th save despite allowing consecutive singles opening the ninth and a run on a fielder’s choice grounder. With one out, he bore down, striking out Sam Hilliard and inducing a game-ending groundball by Ezequiel Tovar. Doval finished with two hits allowed and an earned run while striking out one on 21 pitches (13 strikes – 61.9 Strike%) with three whiffs (14.3 SwStr%). He’s converted six of seven save chances in July with an inflated 1.69 WHIP through 8.1 innings.

• Spencer Bivens worked around two hits and a walk while striking out one in a scoreless eighth for his first hold.
• Jordan Hicks logged two innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs while striking out one, getting credit for his first hold.
• Taylor Rogers notched his seventh hold and struck out the side in the fifth.
• Randy Rodríguez collected his third win. He tossed three innings, allowing two hits and an earned run while striking out three.

Hierarchy remains: Camilo Doval | Tyler Rogers | Ryan Walker

St. Louis Cardinals – Entering a tied game and working around a lead-off single with a lineout and an inning-ending double play, Ryan Helsley collected his fourth win courtesy of a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. He threw seven pitches, all strikes, and induced one whiff (14.3 SwStr%). He’s been scoreless in nine of his last ten appearances with 12 strikeouts versus four walks across 11 innings.

• Andrew Kittredge retired the side and struck out one in the eighth.
• John King gave up a hit and recorded a strikeout during a scoreless seventh.

Hierarchy remains: Ryan Helsley | Andrew Kittredge | JoJo Romero

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Statistical Credits:

Fangraphs.com

Baseball-Reference.com

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