Welcome to the post-trade deadline edition of the rankings. As always, players are ranked for the rest of the season based on how I see them performing for the rest of the season.
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Click to see other August rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C
Relief pitcher ROS rankings
| Aug | Relievers | Team | 2024 | July |
| 1 | Emmanuel Clase | Guardians | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Josh Hader | Astros | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | Raisel Iglesias | Braves | 6 | 3 |
| 4 | Edwin Diaz | Mets | 1 | 8 |
| 5 | Ryan Helsley | Cardinals | 13 | 6 |
| 6 | Jhoan Duran | Twins | 7 | 4 |
| 7 | Robert Suarez | Padres | 20 | 5 |
| 8 | Devin Williams | Brewers | 29 | 19 |
| 9 | Kirby Yates | Rangers | 114 | 14 |
| 10 | Clay Holmes | Yankees | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Camilo Doval | Giants | 3 | 11 |
| 12 | Andres Munoz | Mariners | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | David Bednar | Pirates | 8 | 20 |
| 14 | Pete Fairbanks | Rays | 17 | 15 |
| 15 | Craig Kimbrel | Orioles | 15 | 13 |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen | Red Sox | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | Kyle Finnegan | Nationals | 35 | 24 |
| 18 | Alexis Diaz | Reds | 12 | 18 |
| 19 | Chad Green | Blue Jays | 52 | 31 |
| 20 | Hector Neris | Cubs | 92 | 29 |
| 21 | Paul Sewald | Diamondbacks | 18 | 17 |
| 22 | Daniel Hudson | Dodgers | 87 | 50 |
| 23 | Carlos Estevez | Phillies | 31 | 22 |
| 24 | Shelby Miller | Tigers | 213 | 88 |
| 25 | Evan Phillips | Dodgers | 5 | 10 |
| 26 | Mason Miller | Athletics | 21 | 7 |
| 27 | Jeff Hoffman | Phillies | 63 | 39 |
| 28 | Yimi Garcia | Mariners | 48 | 25 |
| 29 | Lucas Erceg | Royals | 66 | 49 |
| 30 | Ben Joyce | Angels | 210 | NR |
| 31 | Tanner Scott | Padres | 19 | 27 |
| 32 | Hunter Strickland | Angels | 212 | NR |
| 33 | Griffin Jax | Twins | 22 | 30 |
| 34 | Kevin Ginkel | Diamondbacks | 28 | 38 |
| 35 | Calvin Faucher | Marlins | 364 | NR |
| 36 | Tyler Ferguson | Athletics | NR | NR |
| 37 | Yennier Cano | Orioles | 46 | 42 |
| 38 | Cade Smith | Guardians | 165 | 55 |
| 39 | Hunter Harvey | Royals | 43 | 37 |
| 40 | Blake Treinen | Dodgers | 163 | 70 |
| 41 | David Robertson | Rangers | 22 | 35 |
| 42 | Aroldis Chapman | Pirates | 45 | 34 |
| 43 | Erik Swanson | Blue Jays | 56 | NR |
| 44 | Jason Adam | Padres | 40 | 41 |
| 45 | James McArthur | Royals | 49 | 28 |
| 46 | Anthony Bender | Marlins | 125 | 78 |
| 47 | Victor Vodnik | Rockies | 404 | NR |
| 48 | Bryan Abreu | Astros | 37 | 40 |
| 49 | Steven Wilson | White Sox | 119 | NR |
| 50 | Mark Leiter Jr. | Yankees | 88 | 44 |
| 51 | Ryan Walker | Giants | 65 | 46 |
| 52 | Andrew Kittredge | Cardinals | 94 | 73 |
| 53 | Jason Foley | Tigers | 30 | 21 |
| 54 | Trevor Megill | Brewers | 25 | 26 |
| 55 | John Brebbia | White Sox | 39 | 71 |
| 56 | A.J. Minter | Braves | 53 | 59 |
| 57 | Edwin Uceta | Rays | 316 | NR |
| 58 | Chris Martin | Red Sox | 44 | 45 |
| 59 | Matt Strahm | Phillies | 50 | 62 |
| 60 | JoJo Romero | Cardinals | 55 | 54 |
| 61 | A.J. Puk | Diamondbacks | 64 SP | 32 |
| 62 | Taylor Rogers | Giants | 72 | NR |
| 63 | Ryan Pressly | Astros | 42 | 72 |
| 64 | Michael Kopech | Dodgers | 47 | 33 |
| 65 | Jeremiah Estrada | Padres | 335 | 48 |
| 66 | Drew Rasmussen | Rays | 163 SP | 139 SP |
| 67 | Orion Kerkering | Phillies | 41 | 43 |
| 68 | Luis Garcia | Red Sox | 182 | 60 |
| 69 | Joe Jimenez | Braves | 77 | 69 |
| 70 | Andrew Nardi | Marlins | 68 | 66 |
| 71 | Jose Leclerc | Rangers | 27 | 67 |
| 72 | Fernando Cruz | Reds | 101 | 57 |
| 73 | Julian Merryweather | Cubs | 62 | 76 |
| 74 | Scott Barlow | Guardians | 54 | 64 |
| 75 | Adrian Morejon | Padres | 206 SP | 65 |
| 76 | Jose Alvarado | Phillies | 23 | 23 |
| 77 | Huascar Brazoban | Mets | 147 | NR |
| 78 | Tyler Kinley | Rockies | 59 | 51 |
| 79 | Tyson Miller | Cubs | 371 | 58 |
| 80 | Justin Martinez | Diamondbacks | 349 | 74 |
| 81 | Keegan Akin | Orioles | 78 | 85 |
| 82 | Hunter Gaddis | Guardians | 136 | 84 |
| 83 | Tommy Kahnle | Yankees | 99 | 86 |
| 84 | Garrett Cleavinger | Rays | 95 | 90 |
Dropping off: Ryne Stanek (36th), Jordan Romano (47th), Lucas Sims (52nd), John Schreiber (53rd), Reed Garrett (56th), Bryan Hudson (61st), Adbert Alzolay (63rd), Tanner Banks (68th)
- Ben Joyce was clearly third on the Angels’ relief depth chart before the team traded Carlos Estévez and Luis García, but when a save chance came around Tuesday, the team picked Hunter Strickland over the rookie. Maybe that’ll pay off financially in the long run, but it is disappointing. Joyce ended up pitching a scoreless eighth to extend his scoreless-inning streak to 20 1/3. I’m still putting Joyce two spots higher than Strickland here, but it would have been more like 20 if Joyce had gotten the nod Tuesday.
- As for Estévez, I’m giving him a bit of an edge over Jeff Hoffman in Philadelphia. Both figure to be worth playing in mixed leagues, since I doubt the team will use either as a true closer.
- It was a four-run game, so it didn’t matter in the end. Still, it’s notable that the Marlins held Calvin Faucher back for the ninth on Wednesday, using Anthony Bender in the eighth. I thought they might give the nod to Bender in the ninth after trading Tanner Scott; Faucher has had the better season, but Bender has been excellent as of late and has some experience in the ninth. For now, though, Faucher gets the edge in the rankings.
- I was rather hoping the Royals would acquire a true closer to supplant James McArthur. Instead, they acquired two very talented relievers with little experience in the ninth in Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey. Maybe that still makes McArthur the choice for saves for now, but in truth, I’m not sure McArthur is deserving of a bullpen spot at all; his 5.31 ERA and 17.5% K rate are both thoroughly unimpressive. On the other hand, neither Erceg nor Harvey has pitched particularly well of late. I’m placing Erceg first here, but it’s not something I’m very confident about.