Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza

Luke Weaver, traded from the Mets to the Pirates despite leading all NL Setup Men for the Week 18 Reliever Rankings

Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images

August 8, 2026

Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza, Trade Deadline Review & Week 18 Rankings

Welcome to Reliever Roundup and Bullpen Bonanza! These analyses and rankings take it to a different level than the other reliever rankings and coverage you’ve seen. We will separate our rankings by closers, setup men, and middle relievers. (We aren’t going to worry about ranking long relievers; instead, we’ll lump them in with the middle relievers.)

For reference, at the end of play on August 5, the league-wide AL ERA was 4.15. This is for every pitch thrown by any player from an American League team. For the National League — over the same span and within the same parameters — it was 4.20. As for the rest of the stats, statistics are up to the end of play on Wednesday, August 5 unless otherwise noted, are for relief appearances only, and exclude position pitchers.

To the reader: we use some statistics you do might not recognize. To help you out, we have a glossary page. Furthermore, if a stat name is linked, click/tap it to see, in a new tab, the definition of that stat.

Click/tap here to see the ranking method.

League Averages:

AL — 1.320 WHIP, 2.9 HR%, 12.9 K–BB%, 70.5 ScOtg% (ER), 2.7 GE/BE, 3.5 GE, 31.1 IS%.
NL — 1.320 WHIP, 2.8 HR%, 12.6 K–BB%, 70.8 ScOtg% (ER), 3.1 GE/BE, 3.3 GE, 32.5 IS%.

Away we go!

Trade Deadline Review

First, here is a roundup of the Trade Deadline maneuvers involving relief pitchers.

The Deadline was August 3. For the purposes of this section, “Deadline Day Deals” will include everything from July 29 through August 3. For the sake of clarity and brevity, we will only list a player from each trade if he had pitched in the majors in relief on or before August 5.

Wednesday, July 29

Angels traded middle reliever Chase Silseth to Rangers.

Friday, July 31

Mets traded left-handed middle reliever A.J. Minter to Twins. Minter was the #3 NL middle reliever in Week 17.

Saturday, August 1

Guardians traded middle reliever Codi Heuer to Brewers for middle reliever Craig Yoho. (There were non-relievers involved as well.)
Yankees traded Camilo Doval to Pirates.

Sunday, August 2

Royals traded left-handed middle reliever Bailey Falter to Braves.
White Sox traded middle reliever and former back-ender Seranthony Domínguez to Mariners.

Monday, August 3 (Deadline Day)

Braves traded middle reliever Anthony Molina to the Giants.
Mets traded middle reliever Huascar Brazobán to White Sox. Brazobán was the #7 NL middle reliever in Week 17.
Yankees traded middle reliever Jake Bird to Nationals.
Giants traded setup man Caleb Kilian to Phillies.
Mets traded left-handed middle reliever Brooks Raley to Phillies. Raley is the #3 NL middle reliever.
Dodgers traded middle reliever Chayce McDermott to Mets.
Angels traded left-handed middle reliever Brent Suter to the Braves.
Mariners traded middle reliever Alex Hoppe to Orioles.
Mets traded setup man Luke Weaver to Pirates. Weaver is the #1 NL setup man and has been most of the season.
Cardinals traded left-handed setup man JoJo Romero to Brewers.
Angels traded setup man Ryan Zeferjahn to Cubs.
Phillies traded middle reliever Nolan Hoffman to Royals.
Giants traded left-handed setup man Erik Miller to Red Sox.
Phillies traded middle reliever Seth Johnson to Athletics.
Red Sox traded middle reliever Tyler Uberstine to Braves.
Brewers sold middle reliever Codi Heuer to Orioles two days after trading for him.
Orioles traded back-ender Tyler Wells to Rays. Orioles used him as a setup man and closer. Rays are using him in middle relief.
Reds traded left-handed middle reliever Caleb Ferguson to Cardinals.
Guardians traded left-handed middle reliever Will Dion to Nationals.
Rockies traded middle reliever Victor Vodnik to Marlins. Vodnik has pitched setup and closed for the Rockies.
Rockies traded setup man Antonio Senzatela to Brewers.
Angels traded middle reliever Kirby Yates to Pirates.
Marlins traded middle reliever Lake Bachar to Pirates.
Blue Jays traded setup man and one-time closer Jeff Hoffman to Twins for middle reliever RHP John Klein. (There were non-relievers sent to Blue Jays as well.)
Pirates traded middle reliever Hunter Stratton to Padres.

Deadbolt Delivered

Now to honor the relief units that slammed the door and threw away the key. Here are the updated totals for Door Slams!

To get a Door Slam, a team must close out the game with at least three consecutive Goose Eggs. This string must be completely uninterrupted — there cannot be any Broken Eggs in there, there cannot be any Mehs in there, and there can’t be any situation where the score differential is such that the pitcher doesn’t get any of the three. It must be Goose Egg-Goose Egg-Goose Egg. Bang, bang, bang. At least three in a row.

Why is this important? If a team gets a door slam, they completely shut the opponent down en route to a narrow victory. When the last outs are on the line, it’s lockdown only. The Door Slam celebrates those nights when the back end doesn’t merely protect the lead — it shuts the door, throws the deadbolt, and walks away with the key.

Door Slam Totals

Door Slams by team, through Week 18. A Door Slam is defined as a game that ends with a team getting three or more consecutive Goose Eggs without interruption of any kind. Statistics run through the end of play on Aug 5.

Door Slam Summary

Above is the list of each team’s Door Slam totals at the end of Week 18. At this point, every team had played between 113 and 116 games. As you can see from the numbers here, Door Slams are not easy to get and are not common. They aren’t un-common — we typically get at least one per day — but they aren’t common, either.

The leaders in all of Major League Baseball at the end of play on Wednesday, August 5, were the Cincinnati Reds, with 11. In second place were the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, in a tie, with nine each. Four teams had eight each: the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays. Five teams had seven Goose Eggs each: the Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. An additional five had six door slams each: the Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers.

Four teams had five door slams each: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres. Three teams had four each: the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and Philadelphia Phillies. The Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays had three each. Finally, three teams still had one each: the Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, and Washington Nationals.

In summary, over the first 18 weeks of the season, there were 170 total Door Slams league‑wide. The Reds led the pack with eleven, followed by the Braves and Brewers with nine each. In a three-way tie, the Red Sox, Mariners, and Blue Jays led the American League with eight each. Splitting it up by league, the National League had 88 Door Slams; the American League had 82.

Week 18 Team Relief Corps Power Rankings

These rankings include every pitch thrown in relief by a player wearing their team’s uniform — excluding position players — through the end of play on August 5. This table shows the scoring breakdown. Teams are ranked in Clutch, Run Prevention, Baserunner Prevention, and Command, weighted as shown. The final score determines the ranking. Zero means right at league average. Positive is better than average, negative is below average. A score of 100 means the team is 100% better than league average; a score of 50 is 50% better; a score of -50 is 50% lower, and so on. Each whole number equals one percentage point.

As for the numbers or letters in parentheses, the first number is the team’s overall score. The second is that team’s change in ranking since Week 17. “N.C.” means “no change.”

Here’s a look at this week’s Scatter Plot.

Through end of play Aug 5. Chart, rankings, and ranking methods created by Evan M. Thompson.

And the line graph of every team’s rankings in the season so far, week by week.

Week 18 Individual Reliever Power Rankings

Statistics include every regular-season game up through the end of play on August 5. To qualify for the rankings, there is a minimum of 23 relief appearances, and for the GE/BE-plus statistic, which forms 2/3 of the “Clutch” category we use to rate setup men and closers, there is a minimum of 11 GE+BE.

A note on the roles: if a team is using Co-Closers, we list both as closers. If it is “Closer by Committee,” we list all members of that committee as setup men.

Also of note: if someone’s role has recently shifted, such as a middle man being moved to setup or closing, we kept him as a middle reliever if his GE+BE is too low for him to get a rating in GE/BE-plus. (Example: Brandyn Garcia) Also, since the Trade Deadline has passed, there are several players in the leaderboards who have played on more than one team. Their scores are based on their combined totals for the whole season.

AL Middle/Long Relievers

10. Trevor Richards (PHL/CHW) — 15.2
9. Jovani Morán (BOS) — 17.4
8. Drew Sommers (DET) — 19.2
7. Gabe Speier (SEA) — 19.9
6. A.J. Minter (NYM/MIN) — 24.7
5. Erik Miller (SF/BOS) — 25.3
4. Tyler Wells (BAL/TB) — 28.4
3. Huascar Brazobán (NYM/CHW) — 28.5
2. Tyron Guerrero (BOS) — 38.3
1. Cam Booser (TB) — 42.9

NL Middle/Long Relievers

10. Edgardo Henriquez (LAD) — 14.0
9. Caleb Kilian (SF/PHL) — 14.7
8. Taylor Clarke (ARI) — 15.2
7. Jack Dreyer (LAD) — 23.0
6. Brennan Bernardino (COL) — 23.8
5. Alex Vesia (LAD) — 24.0
4. John King (MIA) — 24.3
3. Brooks Raley (NYM/PHL) — 25.8
2. Dylan Dodd (ATL) — 31.0
1. Brandyn Garcia (ARI) — 51.7

AL Setup Men

10. Hunter Gaddis (CLE) — 87.9
9. Kevin Kelly (TB) — 92.5
8. Bryan Hudson (CHW) — 92.9
7. Daniel Lynch IV (KCR) — 127.4
6. Garrett Cleavinger (TB) — 133.6
5. Garrett Whitlock (BOS) — 143.1
4. Brent Headrick (NYY) — 150.0
3. Tyler Rogers (TOR) — 150.3
2. Grant Taylor (CHW) — 160.4
1. Steven Okert (HOU) — 185.4

NL Setup Men

Please note: the Mets traded Luke Weaver to the Pirates August 3. However, at the end of play on August 5, Weaver had yet to appear in a game for the Pirates.

10. Aaron Ashby (MIL) — 72.3
9. Michael Petersen (MIA) — 76.9
8. Didier Fuentes (ATL) — 83.8
7. Dylan Lee (ATL) — 94.8
6. Juan Morillo (ARI) — 118.5
5. Abner Uribe (MIL) — 130.4
4. Tanner Scott (LAD) — 137.1
3. Adrián Morejón (SD) — 150.9
2. Brock Burke (CIN) — 177.7
1. Luke Weaver (NYM/PIT) — 306.4

AL Closers

We’ll include #6-#8, since they also broke 100.

8. Andrés Muñoz (SEA) — 100.5
7. Jacob Latz (TEX) — 117.2
6. Bryan Baker (TB) — 125.3
5. Aroldis Chapman (BOS) — 127.5
4. Louis Varland (TOR) — 153.9
3. David Bednar (NYY) — 167.6
2. Cade Smith (CLE) — 177.3
1. Josh Hader (HOU) — 273.4

NL Closers

We’ll include #6 since he also broke 100.

6. Jhoan Duran (PHL) — 107.6
5. Mason Montgomery (PIT) — 128.1
4. Trevor Megill (MIL) — 130.8
3. Riley O’Brien (STL) — 149.4
2. Gregory Soto (PIT) — 153.0
1. Mason Miller (SD) — 356.9

League Averages

AL — 1.320 WHIP, 2.9 HR%, 12.9 K–BB%, 70.5 ScOtg% (ER), 2.7 GE/BE, 3.5 GE, 31.1 IS%.
NL — 1.320 WHIP, 2.8 HR%, 12.6 K–BB%, 70.8 ScOtg% (ER), 3.1 GE/BE, 3.3 GE, 32.5 IS%.