Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Mason Montgomery looking like ace closer; Brandyn Garcia has new competition — CBS Sports

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Mason Montgomery looking like ace closer; Brandyn Garcia has new competition — CBS Sports | AIPROPX

Our long national nightmare is over. Or is it?

Several members of the Dodgers beat reported Saturday that manager Dave Roberts plans to use Edwin Diaz in a lower-leverage role when the right-hander returns from a neck issue, which sounds like it'll happen sooner than later, and a number of aggregators in the usual places disseminated only that part of the report.

Unfortunately, there's more to it. The more complete version is that Roberts plans to use Diaz in a lower-leverage role at first before easing him back into the closer role as performance merits.

Maybe that never happens. Diaz has been terrible this year, whether going on or coming off the IL, so it's reasonable to question whether this latest stint will fix him. And we all know his absence means more saves for Tanner Scott , the Dodgers' big free agent closer flop from a year ago who has bounced back with a 2.24 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 11.0 K/9.

Our preferred outcome at this point would be for them to just stick with Scott, and given how little remains on the 2026 calendar, that's how this is likely to go. But if your league plays up to the very end, you can't count on it. Robert's mind may have opened a crack regarding Diaz, but we all remain subject to his whims.

Note: "Pecking order" refers to rosterability in Fantasy and not necessarily who's first in line for saves (though it's usually one and the same).

The Pirates also kicked off my last Bullpen Report two weeks ago, but the name at the top of the pecking order then was Luke Weaver . The team had just acquired him from the Mets , presumably to be the solution to their season-long closer problem. But he has gotten precisely zero of the Pirates' saves since then while left-hander Mason Montgomery has gotten all three. Turns out the solution was right under their noses, and you need only dig a little to confirm that he is indeed the solution. Over his past 22 appearances, Montgomery has a 0.86 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 17.6 -- yes, 17.6 -- K/9.

Frankly, he's been about that dominant all year, which explains his 14.5 K/9 overall. It's just that when Gregory Soto began losing his grip on the closer role in June, Montgomery endured his own little rough patch, bringing his ERA to 4.94, which took him off the table as well. Even at that point, though, his FIP was only 2.96. Clearly, the Pirates know what they have now, and what they have is a reliever who could legitimately be top five the rest of the way. At 43 percent, Montgomery is criminally under-rostered in leagues where saves matter.

Brandyn Garcia seemed like he was trending toward becoming the Diamondbacks closer, but his past three appearances haven't seen him used in that capacity. Two came as early as the seventh inning, and while the most recent one came in the ninth, he was removed before the final out, ceding a one-out save to Kevin Ginkel . With a 2.43 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 10.5 K/9, Garcia has been the Diamondbacks' best reliever, and I don't think Ginkel is a serious threat to capture the closer role outright.

Justin Martinez may be, though. The Diamondbacks' former closer just returned from Tommy John surgery about a week ago. He was dominant on his rehab assignment and has so far delivered two scoreless appearances, both in the eighth inning, while averaging nearly 101 mph on his fastball. For reliability, he's unlikely to outclass Garcia, but he has right-handedness going for him. I think the main reason why Garcia has had trouble securing the closer role is because he's the only left-hander in the Diamondbacks bullpen, which means they can't always leave him for the ninth. Garcia remains the top choice in Fantasy for now, but Martinez is closing in.

Q: Who has four of the Royals ' past seven saves? A: Steven Cruz . So that would make him the favorite for saves going forward, yes? Well ... except for the fact that Cruz has only two of the Royals' past four saves, with another reliever also having two: Nate Pearson .

You may remember Pearson as a top prospect in the Blue Jays system, a flamethrower who was tracking toward becoming an ace before injuries got in the way. He still throws flames, averaging 97.7 mph on his fastball this year, which is an important quality for a late-inning reliever. And that's what Pearson has become for the Royals, working the eighth inning or later in nine consecutive appearances. The one that most raised an eyebrow, though, came two appearances ago, when he worked the ninth for a save while Cruz worked the eighth. But then, the very next day, the Royals had Pearson work the eighth and Cruz the ninth (though technically not for a save because the Royals extended their lead to four in the bottom of the eighth). So I guess it's status quo for two relievers who throw hard but don't have a ton of closer characteristics otherwise. If nothing else, I feel confident saying Cruz has little margin for error now that a next-in-line has emerged.

Daniel Palencia has spent more of the year hurt than healthy, but he just returned from his latest IL stint (flexor strain) with a perfect seventh inning Friday, showing his usual velocity and striking out two. Jacob Webb had only recently settled into the closer role but was doing a good job there, at least until his latest appearance Saturday when he coughed up three runs to blow the save, the final two coming on a walk-off home run to Randy Arozarena . That might be all the excuse the Cubs need to move Palencia back into the closer role, which seems like an inevitability.

Kodai Senga's winding career path has most recently landed him in the closer role for the Mets. We can deduce this not just from his four saves over the past couple weeks and six consecutive appearances in the ninth but also his choreographed Michael Jackson-themed reliever entrance , with all the pomp and circumstance befitting of a closer. Senga still has a 7.79 ERA overall, but since he began throwing one inning at a time – a span of eight appearances now – he has a 2.45 ER...