86 Pitchers With a Save Already: The Closer Is Dead and Baseball Execs Are Betting Their Jobs On It

The traditional closer is officially extinct. Through just 23 games this season, 86 pitchers have already earned at least one save, the highest total in any season since 2000. That's not a typo. That's not a fluke. That's the new normal, and it's blowing up everything Mariano Rivera built his Hall of Fame career on.

Think about it: Rivera racked up 652 saves over nearly two decades, almost all of them in the ninth inning. If he was breaking into the majors today? "The fan in me doesn't like it," one AL executive admitted, "but it's a well-supported strategy." The closers we know are fading fast. Only six teams are sticking with the old playbook: San Diego's Mason Miller, David Bednar, Jhoan Duran, Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Romano, and Devin Williams are the only relievers on their teams to earn a save this season. The other 24 teams? They're doing something completely different.

The Math Tells You Everything

Compare this to 2022, the previous high-water mark. By this point that year, 77 pitchers had earned a save. We've already blown past that by 9 pitchers with more than 130 games left to play. Over the past four seasons, more than 200 pitchers have recorded at least one save every single year, something that had literally never happened before 2022. Last year alone, eight teams had at least six pitchers with multiple saves. The Diamondbacks led the charge with nine multi-save relievers and 17 total Arizona pitchers earning at least one save, both new MLB records.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen didn't mince words: "The days of guys running a closer out there three days in a row in April, it just doesn't happen. Nobody does that anymore." He also made the uncomfortable confession that 17 save-earning pitchers was too many, even acknowledging the traditional closer is dead weight. "You certainly don't want 17," he said.

It's All About the Matchup Now

Forget the ninth inning. Teams are now deploying their best relievers wherever the leverage is highest, which could be the sixth, seventh, or eighth. One AL exec explained the philosophy: "We're all trying to find opportunities to put our best arms against the other team's best hitters." Another NL executive pointed to Andrew Miller's transformation from Yankees closer to Cleveland's "fireman" in 2016 as the turning point. Miller could pitch any inning, face any hitter, and maximize wins any way possible.

Even Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo admitted the era of the traditional seventh, eighth, and ninth-inning guy is over. "Everybody's in a very versatile role," he said. "Whereas 20 years ago, it was not a thing; the closer waited until the ninth inning."

The old way is dead. The save record will stand forever, and nobody's ever coming close again.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.