MLB: Ranking the top 5 bullpens going into the 2023 season

2. Cleveland Guardians

We could sum this ranking up in two words: Emmanuel Clase. We won’t, but with Edwin Diaz’s unfortunate injury blow for 2023, Clase could well be the best closer in baseball this season.

Clase led MLB with 42 saves and a dominant 1.36 ERA and 0.73 WHIP in 2022, and should be on track to post similar kind of production this season, barring injury. Behind Clase is setup man James Karinchak, who is also a force of nature out of the bullpen.

Between those two, the eighth and ninth innings are as good as locked up. There aren’t many bullpens in baseball that have such a certainity.

The Guardians also have lots of options in middle relief, like Trevor Stephan, Cody Morris, Eli Morgan and Sam Hentges, all of whom can pick up the slack behind a stout rotation, while also bridging the gap to Karinchak and Clase.

As long as they can score enough runs to have a lead, teams will have an awfully tough time contending with Cleveland at the end of games.

1. Houston Astros

This bullpen helped clinch a World Series title in 2022, so it seems impossible not to have them top our 2023 preseason relief corp rankings.

Astros closer Ryan Pressly is as good as they come, even if you don’t immediately think of him the way you might an Emmanuel Clase or Edwin Diaz. In 2022, Pressly finished with a 2.98 ERA and 33 saves.

Pressly doesn’t do it alone, though: his setup men Rafael Montero and Bryan Abreu have electric fastballs that blow hitters away. For what it’s worth, Montero himself also had 14 saves in 2022.

Want more closing experience? Hector Neris checks that box. Houston has made the most of the former Philadelphia closer’s devastating splitter, turning Neris into a bona fide weapon late in games as well.

And then there’s Ryne Stanek and Brandon Bielak and Phil Maton and … you get the idea. The Astros have the most complete bullpen in baseball, top to bottom.