2024 End Of Season Closer Report

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

After a 2023 blip where some trends started reverse, everything Saves-wise is back to normal in 2024.  This past season is close to the results of 2021 and 2022 with no noticeable changes. The only item of note in all the tables is that only four closers were able to keep their jobs (with the same team) through the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Might as well start going through the boring tables. First, here is how each team’s initial closer performed.

How the 2024 Initial Closers Performed
Team Eventual First Top Closer Going into season NFBC ME ADP Last Until Reason if Replaced Saves Team Saves % of Team Saves
Angels Carlos Estévez One Guy 167 7/23/2024 Traded Away 20 35 57%
Astros Josh Hader One Guy 44 EOS None 34 43 79%
Athletics Mason Miller One Guy 171 7/25/2024 Injury 28 35 80%
Blue Jays Chad Green Closer Hurt 443 4/17/2024 Injury 17 36 47%
Braves Raisel Iglesias One Guy 61 EOS None 34 40 85%
Brewers Abner Uribe Closer Hurt 353 4/16/2024 Poor performance 3 53 6%
Cardinals Ryan Helsley One Guy 85 EOS None 49 55 89%
Cubs Adbert Alzolay One Guy 120 4/21/2024 Poor performance 4 38 11%
Diamondbacks Kevin Ginkel Closer Hurt 362 5/7/2024 Incumbent returned 5 38 13%
Dodgers Evan Phillips One Guy 65 5/5/2024 Injury 18 50 36%
Giants Camilo Doval One Guy 56 8/9/2024 Poor performance 23 36 64%
Guardians Emmanuel Clase One Guy 54 EOS None 47 53 89%
Mariners Andrés Muñoz One Guy 64 EOS None 22 34 65%
Marlins Tanner Scott One Guy 102 7/30/2024 Traded Away 18 33 55%
Mets Edwin Díaz One Guy 35 5/29/2024 Injury 20 39 51%
Nationals Kyle Finnegan One Guy 206 EOS None 38 40 95%
Orioles Craig Kimbrel One Guy 88 7/25/2024 Poor performance 23 46 50%
Padres Robert Suarez One Guy 129 EOS None 36 44 82%
Phillies José Alvarado Committee 144 7/23/2024 Traded for Closer 13 37 35%
Pirates David Bednar One Guy 74 6/22/2024 Injury 23 43 53%
Rangers José Leclerc One Guy 148 4/12/2024 Poor performance 1 38 3%
Rays Pete Fairbanks One Guy 76 4/22/2024 Injury 23 51 45%
Red Sox Kenley Jansen One Guy 123 9/22/2024 Injury 27 40 68%
Reds Alexis Díaz One Guy 75 EOS None 28 36 78%
Rockies Justin Lawrence Committee 361 5/27/2024 Injury 2 37 5%
Royals Will Smith Committee 253 4/6/2024 Poor performance 1 41 2%
Tigers Jason Foley Committee 445 EOS None 28 45 62%
Twins Griffin Jax Closer Hurt 294 4/30/2024 Incumbent returned 10 43 23%
White Sox Michael Kopech One Guy 300 7/29/2024 Traded Away 9 21 43%
Yankees Clay Holmes One Guy 82 9/4/2024 Poor performance 30 45 67%

There was a quick hook on six guys who all lost their job by May 7th. Besides them (and Michael Kopech), all were able to get to double-digit Saves.

And here are how those incumbents performed as a group.

Overall Comparison of Initial Closer Performance
Year Saves by Initial Closer Team Saves % Saves by Initial Closer Total EOS EOS % Same Incumbent as the previous year Same Incumbent %
2013 927 1266 73% 15 50%
2014 746 1264 59% 11 37% 16 53%
2015 737 1292 57% 11 37% 14 47%
2016 797 1276 63% 11 37% 16 53%
2017 668 1179 57% 10 33% 13 43%
2018 759 1244 61% 5 17% 12 40%
2019 573 1180 49% 7 23% 9 30%
2020 202 422 48% 11 37% 8 27%
2021 592 1200 49% 9 30% 6 20%
2022 599 1232 49% 9 30% 6 20%
2023 716 1241 58% 12 40% 6 20%
2024 634 1225 52% 9 30% 4 13%

Again, the numbers are similar to 2021 and 2022 with about half of the total Saves going to initial closers. There were just four closers able to keep their jobs through two seasons.

Finally, here is how the Saves got distributed.

Save Trends
Year Players Getting Saves Players Getting > 4 Saves Players Getting > 9 Saves Non Incumbent > 9 Saves
2013 130 42 37 10
2014 134 49 39 15
2015 145 47 37 15
2016 148 53 42 15
2017 162 52 40 15
2018 165 59 43 14
2019 199 64 38 16
2020 131
2021 198 70 41 18
2022 222 64 35 12
2023 214 64 38 11
2024 223 53 39 16

Again, no surprises.

Every season, I’ll run the these numbers to understand the overall trends, but no changes this season. Oh well.





Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

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Scotty GMember since 2020
1 month ago

I think you could almost throw out the numbers for Kopech and the White Sox. Due to the infrequency of late inning leads, they really didn’t have a “closer.” He made 43 appearances for the Sox and was 9 for 14 in save opportunities.