Bullpen Inventory As The 2026 Postseason Creeps Closer

Guest Writer
Written By Michael L. Sküpin
Pressly

Ryan Pressly via Chron.com

Statistics are as of 08/31**

We have a notion in recent baseball history that a strong bullpen can be a series altering advantage in the postseason. Annually, the trade deadline will see teams with World Series aspirations aim to beef up their reliever corp. Last year, we saw 3 elite closers (Mason Miller, Jhoan Durán, and David Bednar) traded in July to playoff teams. Recent history is rife with examples of many World Series teams being carried by strong relief performances, such as: 


2026 Stats & Recent WS Bullpens

Here are the teams in the thick of the playoff race with their bullpen ranking; pre-season power rankings provided by FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen; his article can be found here. 

Bullpen_Rankings

Individual Reliever Trends

There are 47 RP who have a fWAR of 0.9 or better. Then, there are 16 relievers who have a fWAR >1.5 on the season. There are many expected names, like the Padres' Mason Miller (3.2 fWAR, the leader and one of the highest this decade), Phillies’ Jhoan Duran (2.7 fWAR, 3rd in the league), and Trevor Megill (2.2 fWAR, 5th in the league). One of the biggest surprises is Blue Jays’ Louis Varland. He was acquired last year from the Twins and has greatly surpassed expectations. Claiming the closer role from inconsistent reliever Jeff Hoffman, Varland is 2nd in the league with a 2.7 fWAR, sporting a 1.18 ERA and striking out 31.5% of batters faced. 

10 of the top 16 relievers (per fWAR) lead their respective teams in saves. During the 2025 season, there were 19 relievers who posted >1.5 fWAR for the season, with 9 of the 19 relievers leading their respective team in saves. With some slight fluctuations, 2021-2024 yielded similar results as 2025 & 2026. Overall, bullpens are inconsistent from year to year, as you’ll see in the chart below.  

Recent History and Top Performers

From the last 5 years, here are the teams that made their League Championship Series and their corresponding bullpen stats.

Teams

In the last 5 years (cumulative), Astros’ Ryan Pressly has the highest RE24 amongst relievers. RE24 calculates how a player performs in high acuity situations. With a score of 12.40, he leads by a wide margin over Tyler Matzek, who has a 8.73 RE24 and Alex Vesia, whose mark of 7.77 round out the top 3. Pressly pitched 27.1 innings over several postseasons and allowed 1.32 ERA with a 36.8% K rate. Across the board, Pressly is one of the most dominant postseason relievers this decade.

Going back to 2013, Andrew Miller leads all relievers in postseason RE24 with 15.75, struck out 36.5% of batters and had a microscopic 0.93 ERA in 38.2 innings. Miller only saved one game during his appearances but earned 9 holds. There are only two other relievers who have posted >10 RE24. Tyler Matzek posted a 13.08 RE24 in 24.1 innings. He had a 1.48 ERA and led all qualified relievers with a 40.4% K rate. Surprisingly, he did not secure a save during any of these postseason performances yet did secure 6 holds. The leader in saves since 2014 is Kenley Jansen. As one of two players with over 14 postseason saves (Pressly had 14 plus 3 holds), he had 20 saves in 65.1 innings with 2 holds. He had a 12.56 RE24, 2.20 ERA, and struck out 37.6% of batters faced. 

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Aroldis Chapman’s memorable postseason career. He’s pitched for 5 playoff teams (Reds, Cubs, Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox) and has acted as a mercenary for several of these teams. Notably, he was acquired by the Cubs in 2016 and was instrumental in their World Series conquest. Then in 2023, he was acquired by the Rangers and helped secure their World Series championship. In 51.2 career postseason innings (dating back to 2010), his 6.71 RE24 ranks 16th. He’s had a 2.26 ERA and struck out 34.3% of batters to go along with 11 saves and 6 holds. Between Jansen, Pressly, and Chapman, there isn’t another reliever in the top 30 with more than 5 saves since 2013. 

Gearing Up For The Playoffs

According to RE24, the Blue Jays boast the top two relievers in the sport. 

Varland

Louis Varland via MLB.com

  • Blue Jays’ surprise weapons have been Louis Varland (1.18 ERA) and Spencer Miles (2.95 ERA) and they’ve both found themselves atop the leaderboard. Cannot forget to mention Tyler Rogers, (1.90 ERA) 

  • A pair of Yankees relievers rank 3rd and 4th (Paul Blackburn (1.64 ERA) and Brent Headrick (1.97 ERA), respectively). David Bednar (2.31 ERA) has been very effective this season.

  • The Rays have two RP in the top ten (Kevin Kelly (1.98 ERA) and Bryan Baker (1.53 ERA). Newly acquired Rays pitcher Tyler Wells is ranked 19th (2.66 ERA) and the team just returned Manuel Rodríguez from injury. The last two seasons, Rodríguez has pitched 68 innings and yielded a 2.12 ERA. 

  • The Padres have two RP in the top 11 with Mason Miller (0.96 ERA) and Yuki Matsui (2.06 ERA). Rookie Bradgley Rodriguez (2.10 ERA) has been excellent this season. 

  • The Braves bullpen, with three RP in the top 25, are led by rookie Didier Fuentes (2.39 ERA), Dylan Lee (2.41 ERA), and Dylan Dodd (2.09 ERA). Their pen also features two shutdown closing options with Raisel Iglesias (2.88 ERA) and Robert Suarez (0.56 ERA). Iglesias and Suarez have both had long stints on the IL this season. Trade deadline acquisition Brent Suter has a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings since joining the Braves.

  • The Astros feature three RP in the top 25 with Josh Hader (0.76 ERA), Steven Okert (2.17 ERA), and rookie AJ Blubaugh (3.17 ERA). 

  • The Red Sox have three RP in the top 40 with Garrett Whitlock, Jovani Morán (2.84 ERA), and Aroldis Chapman (1.81 ERA).

  • The Brewers have two top 30 weapons in Abner Uribe (2.05 ERA) and Trevor Megill (2.24 ERA). While neither is an elite strikeout artist, which is a valuable trait for relievers, both have recent track records of strong success. 

  • The White Sox have studs with veteran Sean Newcomb (2.45 ERA) and young gun Grant Taylor (2.18 ERA). Bryan Hudson has been very good since he joined Chicago, posting 1.5 bWAR and a 3.16 ERA (2.79 ERA in the month of August).

  • The Phillies boast elite closer Jhoan Durán (1.64 ERA) and added Brooks Raley (2.22 ERA) and Caleb Kilian (4.91 ERA; 3.82 FIP) at the trade deadline.

For a team to have 2-3 excellent late game options during a playoff series is of high importance. This is notable given that many teams will shorten their starting rotation and move their #4/#5 SP to the bullpen, which bumps the lower tier guys from said bullpen. Therefore, bullpen depth during the regular season isn’t as important in the playoffs. 

Conclusion

Lots of things have to go right for a team to win the World Series. Health, the right players peaking at the right time, stars showing up, and a little bit of magic/karma/luck. I’ll admit, before I began researching, I thought that having a top 10 bullpen was essential to making a deep postseason run. Regular season stats do not exactly correlate to postseason results for bullpens. When the pitching staffs get shorter, there’s more reliance on the studs. Teams like the Phillies don’t have to trot out a AAAA RP during the playoffs, therefore the stats are a bit misaligned. My argument has turned into that a team needs those 2-3 late inning “firemen” to put out the fires and close out games. Most of this season’s contenders made moves to tinker their already strong bullpens. 

About the Author

Michael L. Sküpin (Substack) is a grizzled millennial husband/dad who loves talking baseball, football, hockey, basketball, college sports, sports business, fantasy sports, and many other sports. Fandoms include Detroit, Philadelphia, & Indianapolis. Also, happy to chat about advocacy, mental health, social justice, and life.

Michael L. Sküpin
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