MLB Power Rankings: Every AL contender by bullpen quality, from worst to first

Like every year, there appears to be at least two teams that have similar identities. This year, it is the Orioles and Yankees who share nearly the same record. When we look at their starting rotations and offensive engines, they seem evenly matched. The Orioles might not have Judge or Soto, but their lineup is deeper. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians are on their heels but have long held the best record in the AL. The Guardians lag half the MLB in team OPS and their rotation isn’t a strong point by any stretch of the definition. What’s their secret? We’ll get to that in a bit.

In any case, it seems that at least a few of these teams, should they meet in the postseason, will have matchups determined by the bullpen. But, if this is the case, which AL contenders are equipped to succeed? Let’s dive in.

First, we need to look at a team’s top performers. Usually, two-to-four relievers are needed to close out a game once the starter’s day is done. Secondly, we need to look at bullpen depth. These same relievers will get days of rest and it is important to have a stacked bullpen, especially if there is need for a bullpen game. We’ll also take a look at each contender’s collective bullpen ERA (all collective bullpen ERAs provided by Covers) and how this may be affected by trade deadline acquisitions. With our main criteria selected, let’s rank the bullpens of every viable AL contender.

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9. Kansas City Royals 

At the deadline, the Royals traded for Paul DeJong, Michael Lorenzen, and Lucas Erceg. With a bullpen ERA of 4.28, the need for a reliever like Erceg was rather obvious.

The one top performer in the Royals’ bullpen besides Erceg (3.14 ERA, 43 IP) is Sam Long (2.36, 26.2 IP). Long hasn’t pitched much, but the rest of the Royals’ bullpen is throwing for ERAs well north of 4.00. If Kansas City finds itself in a matchup that comes down to the wire, they will likely need to rely on their offense to carry the day if Long and Erceg are not available.

8. Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay came into the trade deadline with a winning record and a shot at a Wild Card spot. However, management seemingly called it quits and sold off Randy Arozarena, Jason Adam, and Shawn Armstrong.

Currently six games back in the WC race and still holding a winning record, we can’t count them out as contenders, but we will note that actually gaining a WC spot now that they are entering rebuild mode is highly unlikely. The Rays maintain a bullpen ERA of 3.94 this season. But this includes the contribution of Jason Adam who is no longer a Ray.

Among the Rays’ current top-performing relievers, there is Pete Fairbanks (2.88 ERA, 40.2 IP) and Garrett Cleavinger (3.02 ERA, 44.2 IP). However, we can’t leave out Edwin Uceta (1.14 ERA, 23.2 IP) and Manuel Rodriguez (2.11 ERA, 21.1 IP) who haven’t pitched much, but have had good results.

Beyond these four, the Rays’ bullpen is not very strong which explains the 3.94 ERA.

7. Boston Red Sox

Pitching has been Boston’s main problem this year. At the trade deadline, they acquired James Paxton plus a few relievers. The Red Sox maintain a bullpen ERA of 4.22 this season. Newly acquired relievers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia should help to remedy their high collective ERA.

Among their best performers are Zack Kelly (2.60 ERA, 45 IP), Kenley Jansen (2.95 ERA, 39.2 IP), Cam Booser (3.15 ERA, 40 IP), and Brennan Bernardino (3.03 ERA, 38.2 IP). While these names may rise to the top of the relief corps, there are quite a few other notable relievers that can help lower that ugly ERA number the Red Sox relievers own as a whole (Lucas Sims, Chris Martin, and Justin Slaten among others).

On the surface, there are no numbers that really stand out. But this is a case where the Red Sox prioritized quantity over quality, which isn’t a knock against these relievers by any measure. Rather than going after a great reliever at the deadline, they bolstered their bullpen by gaining a few good options. This can both help and hurt them. Quantity gives Red Sox length and a plethora of options, but, if you need one lockdown reliever to finish a game or get the team out of a tight spot, Boston’s current options may not be able to do that.

6. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles made a flurry of trades similar to a whirlwind at the deadline, reinforcing the outfield, rotation, and bullpen. Among the notable players they acquired were relievers Trevor Rogers, Seranthony Dominguez, and Gregory Soto. But while all three were great bullpen weapons in years past, they have struggled mightily this year. However, it seems as though Dominguez is coming around.

The Orioles maintain a 4.04 bullpen ERA this season. The injury of Felix Bautista has undoubtedly left a huge hole in their fragile relief corps. Among the O’s best performing relievers are Yennier Cano (2.93 ERA, 46 IP) and Craig Kimbrel (3.21 ERA, 42 IP). Baltimore may also have relievers Danny Coulombe (2.42 ERA, 29 IP) and Jacob Webb (3.08 ERA, 49.2 IP) back from the IL sometime soon.

When at full strength (this year that is, so no Bautista), the Orioles should have quality arms up and down the bullpen. But there isn’t much that can be considered overwhelming. However, if Dominguez is able to recover his numbers and pitch like he did in his prime years in Philadelphia, the Orioles will deserve to be ranked higher.

5. Minnesota Twins

At the trade deadline, the Twins traded for Trevor Richards and DFA’ Josh Staumont, a move that was confusing for everyone since Richards has a lower ERA than Staumont. Besides that, the Twins have a team ERA of 3.95.

Their best performers have been Griffin Jax (1.97 ERA, 50.1 innings) and Jorge Acala (2.34 ERA, 42.1 IP). Other than those two, Cole Sands (3.19, 53.2 IP) and Jhoan Duran (3.38 ERA, 37.1 IP) have also had good years. The other Twins’ relievers either have astronomical ERAs or have yet to prove themselves this season.

With Jax and Acala, the Twins have two very valuable bullpen weapons. They might not have a whole lot they can truly rely on, but between their four good arms, the Twins may be in good shape. 

4. Houston Astros

Just after the trade deadline, the Astros DFA’d Rafael Montero and optioned Seth Martinez to bring in Yusei Kikuchi and Caleb Ferguson. On the relief front, Caleb Ferguson owns 5.45 ERA, Montero owns a 4.70 ERA, and Seth Martinez owns a 2.92 ERA while pitching several more innings than the other two. The obvious question here is: Why option two relievers, one of whom is doing very well, for another reliever that has pitched very poorly?

To be fair to Caleb Ferguson, he pitched very well with the Dodgers, but this year’s numbers don’t justify trading for him. Aside from Ferguson, how does Houston’s bullpen look? Let’s start with their top performers.

Tayler Scott (1.81 ERA, 54.2 IP) and Bryan Abreu (2.57 ERA, 58.2 IP) have excelled this season. Beyond them, Josh Hader (3.68 ERA, 51.1 IP) and Ryan Pressly (3.74 ERA, 45.2 IP) are their only other options that are somewhat reliable (unless they bring Seth Martinez back). While Hader and Pressly were once two of the best closers in the game, this season has been very different.

Right now, it would be hard to say the Astros have a great bullpen despite the star-caliber names and Tayler Scott who’s been performing like one. Nonetheless, they maintain a bullpen ERA of 3.70, which isn’t too bad. Should they bring Martinez back, they would at least have decent depth, but until then, their bullpen is fairly mediocre.

3. New York Yankees

The Yankees made one of the biggest splashes of the trade deadline by acquiring Jazz Chisholm, but they also acquired two relievers: Mark Leiter Jr and Enyel De Los Santos. This is in addition to lefty Tim Hill who was acquired after being DFA’d by the White Sox. Currently, the Yankees hold the third lowest bullpen ERA in the AL, 3.61. Despite a few blowups, the Yankees managed their bullpen very well. Underperforming relievers were traded or sent down. Now, the bullpen looks solid.

But it is very difficult to properly rank the Yankee bullpen. The relief corps has seen several injuries. Ron Marinaccio, Nick Burdi, and Ian Hamilton, may come back this season (Marinaccio is pitching in Triple-A). The Yankees also have starters that will be returning and it is unclear how they will be used and how that will affect the pitching staff.

Among the most reliable Yankees’ relief arms, there is Michael Tonkin (2.90 ERA, 49.2 IP) and Clay Holmes (2.70 ERA, 46.2 IP). Others that should be noted are Tim Hill, Tommy Kahnle, and Jake Cousins who was recently called up. The only current Yankee reliever with an ERA above 4.00 is Enyel De Los Santos. Leiter Jr, who was acquired with an ERA over 4.00, has been on a great stretch and is now pitching to an ERA of 3.83.

While there is no one pitcher that is ultra-reliable, the Yankees now have a deep bullpen with many options.

2. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners had an active trade deadline, nabbing some of the top names on the market such as Randy Arozarena, Yimi Garcia, JT Chargois, and Justin Turner while sending the underperforming Ryne Stanek to the Mets. As far as their relief pitching goes, the Mariners hold a 3.82 bullpen ERA.

Seattle has one elite arm in their bullpen, that being Andres Munoz (1.22 ERA, 44.1 IP). Before the trade deadline approached, the only other reliable reliever the Mariners had was Austin Voth (3.02 IP, 47.2 IP), though we shouldn’t marginalize Collin Snider’s 22.2 innings of excellence (1.19 ERA).

Now, the Mariner’s bullpen is much stronger. In addition to adding Yimi Garcia (2.75 ERA, 36 IP) and JT Chargois (1.29 ERA, 29 IP), they’ve also called up Troy Taylor (1.27, 42.2 IP in A+ and AA) from the minors.

The Mariners clearly have an array of high-leverage bullpen weapons. And with at least 5 quality arms in Munoz, Garcia, Voth, Snider, and Chargois, the Mariners have enough options to weather any offensive storm.

1. Cleveland Guardians

At the trade deadline, the Guardians brought in Alex Cobb and Lane Thomas. No relievers were acquired, but with the best bullpen ERA in baseball by a wide margin (2.69), they didn’t need to pursue any relievers. Let’s start with the top four Cleveland relievers.

Emmanuel Clase (0.69 ERA, 52.1 IP), Hunter Gaddis (1.34 ERA, 53.2 IP), Tim Herrin (1.90 ERA, 47.1 IP), and Cade Smith (2.13 ERA, 55 IP) have been lights out for the Guardians this season. Beyond those four, the Guardians have numerous other quality options, though it is fair to note some haven’t pitched many innings and thus haven’t proven themselves this season. Only one current Cleveland reliever has an ERA over 4.00.

With four shutdown options and a bullpen filled with quality, the Guardians, without a doubt, have the best bullpen in baseball.