MLB Power Rankings: Top 10 Relief Pitchers

The role of a relief pitcher in MLB is changing. Gone are the days when every team attempts to anoint a singular closer at the beginning of the season, and tries to keep him in his designated ninth-inning role from start to finish.

Consider that in every year from 1989 to 2019, with the exception of the strike-shortened 1994 season, at least 10 pitchers recorded 30 saves. The peak of the designated ninth-inning closer was 2015, when 21 of the 30 teams had a 30-save reliever.

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In 2024, only eight pitchers recorded 30 saves — the fewest in a 162-game season since 1988. What happened?

The answer effectively boils down to load management.

Managers are more attuned to the fact that their best relievers aren’t always needed in every ninth-inning save situation. The challenge of “protecting” a three-run lead against a poor team’s 7-8-9 hitters in June, for example, doesn’t necessarily require the best man for the job. The second, third, or fourth-best pitcher in the bullpen is more likely to tackle that challenge in today’s game, while the designated closer saves his arm for another day.

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Alternatively, preserving a one-run lead in the eighth inning against a good team’s 1-2-3 hitters has taken on elevated importance. The Dennis Eckersleys, Trevor Hoffmans, and Mariano Riveras of today are more likely to be deployed in a “high-leverage” eighth inning moment than a “medium-leverage” ninth inning — even with a save on the line.

The upshot? Ranking the 10 best relievers in Major League Baseball isn’t as simple as rattling off a list of the league leaders in saves. Rather, it’s a combination of factors.

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Who do managers trust in potentially game-altering situations, and how well do they perform? Who possesses the most coveted trait among relievers today: the ability to miss bats? And who is available most often over the course of a season when the high-leverage moments call?

The result is a list that leaves a lot of room for interpretation, opinion, and disagreement. Here is Newsweek Sports’ ranking of the Top 10 relief pitchers in MLB:

10. Edwin Diaz

The New York Mets’ closer didn’t have his best season in 2024, with a negative -0.21 Win Probability Added and home run rates, strikeout rates, and walkout rates that trended in the wrong direction compared to 2022. Perhaps that’s because he was still recovering from the knee injury that wiped out his 2023 campaign. Diaz’s stuff remains elite, and both he and the Mets are betting on a bounceback campaign in 2025.

9. Andres Muñoz

All Muñoz did in his first full season as the Seattle Mariners’ closer was strike out 34 percent of batters while limiting them to a .153/.259/.257 slash line. The 25-year-old right-hander boasts a triple-digit fastball that generates plenty of swings and misses. With even better command, he can move up this list in 2025.

8. Kenley Jansen

Jansen, a 37-year-old free agent, just keeps going. He’s up to fourth on the all-time saves list (447) behind only three Hall of Famers. For all the predictability of his cutter-heavy approach, he still limited opponents to a .196/.271/.304 slash line in 2024 while converting 27 of 31 save opportunities for the Boston Red Sox.

7. Raisel Iglesias

At 35, Iglesias keeps finding a way to get the job done. He converted 34 of 38 save opportunities for the Atlanta Braves in 2024 while recording a career-low 1.95 ERA (2.24 expected ERA, per Statcast). The right-hander’s four-pitch mix doesn’t yield elite strikeout numbers, but limits hard contact enough to maintain his status as one of the game’s elite closers.

6. Tanner Scott

Scott, a free agent, will have no trouble landing a lucrative contract after posting a 1.75 ERA for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres in 2024. No closer was better at limiting hard contact last season than Scott. The left-hander finished with 22 saves despite a midseason trade that relegated him to a set-up role for the Padres’ postseason push.

5. Mason Miller

The A’s will toil in anonymity in Sacramento, but Miller deserves all the attention he received as a first-year closer — and more — in 2025. Buoyed by a fastball that averages 101 mph, Miller struck out a breathtaking 41.8 percent of batters last season while recording 28 saves. At 26 years old, he boasts one of the most electric right arms in the game.

4. Kirby Yates

Yates, unlike Miller, excels without the flashiest speed (93.2 mph average fastball) while fooling batters (.113 opponents’ batting average, 36.6 percent strikeout rate) at an alarming rate. The 37-year-old free agent is coming off a 37-save season for the Texas Rangers in which he accrued more Win Probability Added (4.43) than all but one pitcher on this list. His splitter remains one of the game’s elite pitches, and proof that throwing hard isn’t the only path to success.

3. Devin Williams

It’s no secret why the New York Yankees targeted Williams in a December trade to be their new closer. The 30-year-old rode his befuddling changeup to a career-low 1.25 ERA with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, despite making only 22 appearances because of a back injury. His strikeout rate (43.7 percent) was the best of any pitcher on this list, and he did so while pitching in the most high-leverage situations.

2. Ryan Helsley

The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2024 season went nowhere, but still found room to get their All-Star closer into 53 save situations; Helsley converted an MLB-leading 49. His slider is one of the game’s best breaking balls. Paired with a 99-mph fastball and impeccable command (only two career hit batters), it makes Helsley a prime candidate to be traded if the Cardinals’ rebuilding season goes as poorly as some predict.

1. Emmanuel Clase

The results speak for themselves: Clase led the American League in saves for the third consecutive season in 2024, protecting the back end of a stout Cleveland bullpen all the way to the AL Championship Series. Like Jansen, Clase uses a triple-digit cutter so effectively that he rarely needs another pitch. His opponents’ .175 wOBA was the best on this list, as was his 6.23 WPA.

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