_0.png?w=1280)
MLB Bullpen Power Rankings For All 30 Teams
Hypothetical situation: It's Game 7 of the World Series and your starting pitcher is gassed after staking you to a one-run lead through five innings.
Based on what we've seen thus far this season, which bullpen would you want to save the day?
In our process of power ranking the 30 bullpens, closers carried the most weight, of course. However, we're looking at much more than just a team's ability to protect a ninth-inning lead.
Being able to bridge the gap from starter to closer with adequate setup men is crucial. Our goal was to identify a level of trust to get those final 12 outs in a do-or-die situation.
For the most part, ranking is rooted in production thus far in 2026. However, pitchers with an established track record (either good or bad) might have a hot/cold start discounted a bit. After all, we're talking about roughly 10 innings per pitcher in most cases.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics are current through the start of play on Monday, April 27.
Nos. 30-28: Nationals, Astros and Royals
1 of 10
30. Washington Nationals
Seven different Nationals relievers have blown at least one save, as they have an MLB-worst 10 in that department. And among their 11 pitchers to log at least five innings of relief, the only one with an xFIP below 3.66 is former starter Mitchell Parker. Closer Clayton Beeter has already thrown five wild pitches, has a walk rate of 7.0 per nine innings and is now on the IL anyway. Basically, no lead is ever safe for this team.
29. Houston Astros
Not having Josh Hader (biceps) yet this season has left the Astros without an established closer. Meanwhile, Bryan Abreu has gotten out to a positively disastrous start to the year after a four-year stretch as maybe the most reliable setup man in all of baseball. His 12.96 ERA through 10 appearances is at the forefront of Houston's bullpen-wide, MLB-worst ERA of 6.31. Astros relievers have also combined for 10 losses, but only one blown save, oddly enough. That spared them from dead last.
28. Kansas City Royals
Carlos Estévez had an MLB-best 42 saves in 2025, but he lasted just seven batters (and posted a 162.00 ERA) before landing on the IL with both a foot injury and considerable velocity concerns. Suffice it to say, that wasn't the plan for this Royals bullpen. Save for Daniel Lynch IV thriving predominantly in the seventh inning, they've struggled to piece things together without their closer. Lucas Erceg has converted six of eight chances, but has as many walks as strikeouts (nine of each) and a problematic 4.67 ERA.
Nos. 27-25: Angels, White Sox and Rays
2 of 10
27. Los Angeles Angels
Jordan Romano did not allow a single hit in his first six appearances, converting all four of his save chances. Since then? Nine earned runs allowed in three innings, including back-to-back implosions at Yankee Stadium to unofficially jump-start this team's descent to the AL West basement. The Angels designated him for assignment on Sunday, and then watched both Drew Pomeranz and Joey Lucchesi blow saves a few hours later. They now have a bullpen ERA of 5.38.
26. Chicago White Sox
Seranthony Domínguez has gone a respectable 6-for-8 in save chances with a 4.91 ERA. There's a decent chance he surpasses his previous career high of 16 saves in a season. But the White Sox have blown eight saves and haven't been able to identify any reliable middle relievers. Jordan Leasure keeps getting brought in to protect leads and keeps giving up home runs to blow them.
25. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are hanging in there with one of the best records in a subpar American League, but imagine if they hadn't traded Taj Bradley for Griffin Jax last summer. The former has blossomed into the star of Minnesota's rotation, while the latter has been lit up for 11 runs in nine innings of relief work. He is one of six Rays relievers with multiple holds, that sextet saddled with a 5.68 ERA. Closer Bryan Baker has already blown two saves.
Nos. 24-22: Mets, Cardinals and Cubs
3 of 10
24. New York Mets
The start of the Mets portion of Devin Williams' career has gone about as painfully as his Yankees beginning did. The Airbender tossed a perfect inning with a 3-0 deficit on Sunday, but had been torched for eight earned runs across his previous four appearances. However, the rest of the bullpen—specifically Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley and Tobias Myers—hasn't been too shabby, making this a rare ranking from this April in which the Mets aren't quite in the bottom five.
23. St. Louis Cardinals
Prior to blowing the save against the Mariners on Saturday, closer Riley O'Brien had not allowed an earned run in his first 13 appearances. JoJo Romero had also opened the season with 11 consecutive scoreless appearances before back-to-back rough outings. Now that the duo has begun its descent back to earth, though, the Cardinals suddenly have a bullpen ERA well north of 5.00, with both Ryne Stanek and Matt Svanson getting lit up more often than not.
22. Chicago Cubs
Despite sitting at 17-11, save chances have been almost nonexistent for the Cubs, amassing five saves, four blown saves and just four holds. In other words, they tend to win in either walk-off or blowout fashion. Though with closer Daniel Palencia highlighting a long list of Cubs relievers on the IL, perhaps that's for the best. Even with the litany of injuries, though, they've cobbled together a bullpen-wide ERA of 3.76.
Nos. 21-19: Twins, Tigers and Diamondbacks
4 of 10
21. Minnesota Twins
It's a bottom-10 ranking, but it's honestly impressive what Minnesota has been able to do with its closer-by-committee approach after trading away basically the entire bullpen last summer. No Twin has tallied more than one save, nor is any of their six primary relievers averaging even one strikeout per inning pitched. Yet, they have five saves, 17 holds and a bullpen FIP slightly below 4.00.
20. Detroit Tigers
Kenley Jansen blew a save on Friday, but only after reeling off five consecutive scoreless outings en route to third place on MLB's all-time saves leaderboard. There's no realistic chance he'll catch Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman to climb any higher, but he still gets the job done more often than not. Kyle Finnegan had been nearly flawless prior to Friday, too, now sitting on a 0.66 ERA. Get Will Vest to turn things around and they'll be in business.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks
Paul Sewald has gone 7-for-7 in save chances, allowing just one baserunner in those seven innings of work. Bring him into a tie game at your own risk, though, as he has suffered the loss in all three of those appearances. In fact, he has the worst ERA (4.50) of the seven Diamondbacks who have logged at least 10 innings of relief work. But with neither AJ Puk nor Justin Martinez anywhere near a return from the IL, they've just got to hope he keeps shoving when staked to a lead.
Nos. 18-16: Athletics, Guardians and Red Sox
5 of 10
18. Athletics
The A's closer situation has been an adventure since trading away the best closer in the world (Mason Miller) last summer, but they've got something brewing at the moment with Hogan Harris, Justin Sterner and Joel Kuhnel protecting late leads. The latter is basically the polar opposite of Miller, with just four strikeouts through 33 batters faced. However, that trio has combined for three wins, five saves and 12 holds with just one blown save.
17. Cleveland Guardians
Speaking of teams needing to replace an elite closer in the middle of last season, Cleveland has more than held its own thus far during life after Emmanuel Clase. Cade Smith does have two blown saves, but has been mostly solid with just one walk and one earned run allowed across his last seven appearances. Meanwhile, Erik Sabrowski is a perfect 10-for-10 in the holds department, entering Monday with three more holds than MLB's next-closest pitcher. Getting Hunter Gaddis back from the IL two weeks ago has also provided a boost.
16. Boston Red Sox
Aroldis Chapman is still pretty darn good, converting each of his five save chances. Garrett Whitlock has also been solid in predominantly an eighth-inning role, posting a 2.70 ERA with two wins and four holds to date. However, the gap between this bullpen's ERA (3.63) and its expected ERA (4.86) is a bit terrifying. In fact, only the bullpens in Tampa Bay, Washington and St. Louis have a worse xERA than Boston. Only the Mets (two) and Angels (four) have fewer saves than Boston's five.
Nos. 15-13: Blue Jays, Yankees and Dodgers
6 of 10
15. Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto's bullpen has the lowest xFIP (3.20) of any team. Only the Marlins (10.52) can boast a higher K/9 ratio than the Blue Jays' bullpen (10.43). However, "barely in the top half of the league" is about as high as we can justify going on a bullpen with a 4.43 ERA, seven blown saves and a closer carousel in effect. Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Braydon Fisher have been masterful, each logging at least 14 innings with a combined ERA of 1.01. But Jeff Hoffman's shortcomings (two losses and three blown saves with a 6.94 ERA) have been a real downer for this surging-but-still-sub-.500 squad.
14. New York Yankees
David Bednar has converted seven out of eight save chances, but it's a testament to the Yankees' lack of reliable set-up men that the eighth inning has been the biggest mess for them, allowing 18 earned runs (6.00 ERA) in that frame this season. Both Camilo Doval and Jake Bird have struggled since joining the Yankees at last year's deadline. The front office will likely be looking for middle relief upgrades again this summer.
13. Los Angeles Dodgers
This bullpen is nowhere near the blatant Achilles' heel it threatened to be for this team last fall, even with Edwin Díaz imploding in his last two appearances before landing on the IL. But it's also still far from the Dodgers' biggest strength, already with five blown saves and a 4.26 ERA as a whole. At least Tanner Scott has been more reliable thus far in the second year of his contract.
Nos. 12-10: Brewers, Phillies and Pirates
7 of 10
12. Milwaukee Brewers
Trevor Megill had a pair of disastrous outings in mid-April, including one in which the Nationals bunted the Brewers to death. The 2025 All-Star closer has otherwise been good, though, allowing just three base runners across his last five appearances. But how about Aaron Ashby at 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a 14.7 K/9? When they bring him into either a tie game or a one-run deficit, it has been an unofficial signal that the Brewers' offense is about to wake up.
11. Philadelphia Phillies
Plenty of things have gone terribly awry for the Phillies, not the least of which was losing closer Jhoan Duran (oblique) to the IL two weeks ago. They've yet to record a save (scarcely any wins, period) since his injury. But blown saves have been few and far between for a bullpen that has been solid outside of a few recent duds from Tanner Banks. Their actual ERA (4.28) is a bit rough, but their xERA (3.26) suggests that the worm ought to turn soon.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates
Though the Pirates have a negative ratio of saves (five) to blown saves (six), they have been lights out in the eighth and ninth innings this season with a sub-2.00 ERA. In fact, each of the four team leaders in relief innings pitched—Yohan Ramírez, Isaac Mattison, Gregory Soto and closer Dennis Santana—has an ERA of 2.04 or lower, albeit with one blown save apiece. Soto and Santana have combined to allow just 10 hits in 26.2 innings pitched.
Nos. 9-7: Rockies, Giants and Rangers
8 of 10
9. Colorado Rockies
Rockies in the top 10? For pitching?? You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who expects it to last, but it's not a typo. Former starter Antonio Senzatela has really embraced the multi-inning relief role with a 0.50 ERA, a higher strikeout rate than ever before in his career and even two saves in the early going. Veterans Jimmy Herget and Brennan Bernardino have also gotten off to great starts. Colorado's early game plan of using an opener before deploying their 2023 first-round pick, Chase Dollander, has worked out wonderfully thus far, logging 32 innings (25 in relief) with a 2.25 ERA.
8. San Francisco Giants
Leads to protect have been few and far between, but this Giants bullpen has a sub-3.00 ERA to go along with just two losses and three blown saves—ranking top five in the majors in all three of those categories. Caleb Kilian, Matt Gage and Blade Tidwell aren't exactly household names, each with fewer than 51 innings pitched in their MLB career prior to this season. Nevertheless, they've each gone at least 10 innings with an ERA of 1.80 or better thus far.
7. Texas Rangers
Like the Giants, the Rangers surprisingly have a bullpen-wide ERA slightly below 3.00. Jakob Junis, Jalen Beeks and Tyler Alexander each entered the season as former starters with career ERAs in the mid-4s, but that trio has a combined ERA of 1.36 with five saves, 11 holds and no blown saves. This is our highest-ranked bullpen that doesn't have a clear primary option for save situations, but they've made it work.
Nos. 6-4: Orioles, Mariners and Marlins
9 of 10
6. Baltimore Orioles
Welcome back to respectability, Ryan Helsley. After a brutal final two months with the Mets last season, this two-time All-Star has converted each of his six save chances with a 2.79 ERA and 14.0 K/9. He is one of seven Orioles relievers with at least seven innings pitched, six of them with a sub-3.50 ERA. They just got both Keegan Akin and Andrew Kittredge back from the IL this week, so climbing even higher could be in the cards.
5. Seattle Mariners
Closer Andrés Muñoz has not been his usual, dominant self, posting a 6.55 ERA through his first 12 appearances. Most of that was contained to one complete meltdown in San Diego, though. Taking out that mess, the only run he allowed in April was a solo shot courtesy of Nick Kurtz. The rest of this Mariners bullpen has picked up the slack, with five of the other six regulars boasting a sub-2.80 ERA. That includes Jose A. Ferrer (1.93 ERA in 14.0 IP), who they traded top catching prospect Harry Ford to acquire over the winter.
4. Miami Marlins
Miami's bullpen was much closer to the bottom five than the top five last season, but adding both Pete Fairbanks as the closer and John King as the primary southpaw has been quite the one-two punch. The Marlins have also gotten some fantastic mop-up work out of Tyler Phillips, who had a 0.60 ERA and 10.8 K/9 through his first 15 innings. If he can deliver in higher-leverage roles, Miami could have staying power as a .500, borderline playoff team.
Nos. 3-1: Reds, Braves and Padres
10 of 10
3. Cincinnati Reds
Signs point toward impending regression, as the Reds entered play on Sunday with an MLB-best bullpen ERA of 2.59, but a fifth-worst bullpen xFIP of 4.89—and promptly got tagged for five earned runs while blowing a lead against the Tigers. For the time being, though, what a ride to first place in the NL Central it has been. Cincinnati's bullpen is 9-3 with 10 saves and 21 holds. The team is 9-0 in games decided either by one run or in extra innings. And with the exception of closer Emilio Pagán, every reliever with at least 10 innings pitched prior to Sunday had a sub-2.40 ERA.
2. Atlanta Braves
Closer Raisel Iglesias is presently on the IL after a bad night of sleep on his shoulder—got to love baseball injuries—but Atlanta is soldiering on just fine without him so far. The Braves have racked up 11 saves and 17 holds, with their first blown save of the season coming on Saturday. The law firm of (Robert) Suarez, (Tyler) Kinley and (Dylan) Lee has been virtually untouchable, making any late-inning deficit against this team feel almost insurmountable.
1. San Diego Padres
By now, you've heard about the ridiculous season Mason Miller is having, with a year-to-date line of 13.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 27 K and 10 saves. Were it just him, though, the Padres wouldn't rank No. 1. However, 22-year-old Bradgley Rodriguez has been lethal in his own right, Adrián Morejón has rallied from a tough start and getting set-up man Jason Adam back from the IL two weeks ago has provided a major lift, already leading the team with five holds. We shall see if the lineup and rotation can continue to keep pace with the Dodgers atop the AL West, but there's no question which bullpen you would rather have in a hypothetical best-of-seven series.
