A Closer Look at Closer For the 2026 Atlanta Braves

With Raisel Iglesias set to become a free agent, the Braves could go multiple ways to fill the closer role next season

Many assumed Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias would be dealt at the recent trade deadline, but that was not the case. General Manager Alex Anthopolous stated that he “wasn’t interested in just dumping players,” mostly alluding to Iglesias and DH Marcell Ozuna.

While this may have frustrated some, it has given us the chance to see Raisel Iglesias continue his monster run over the last few weeks. In his last 30 games, he’s 1-1 with 14 saves and a 1.88 ERA and 30 strikeouts to only four walks across 28.2 innings. This poses a few questions: Will the Braves bring him back? If not, who will be the next closer?

Here, we dive into all sorts of possibilities, including internal options, the free agent market, and potential trade candidates!

Internal Options

When looking at Atlanta’s current roster, there are not many that come to mind when you think of closers. There are only two that may come to mind when thinking about who could even potentially have closer-type stuff: Daysbel Hernández and Pierce Johnson. And no, I didn’t forget Joe Jimenez. It is just unlikely Atlanta will insert him into a closer role fresh off a knee surgery-induced year off.

Let’s start with Hernández. Earlier this year, when Raisel Iglesias was struggling, the Braves front office and management seemed to have this same thought. Could Daysbel be the future in the 9th? However, this was short-lived due to ongoing control issues.

The fastball is good. Really good in my opinion. The slider plays very well too. He simply doesn’t throw enough strikes. His ERA is 2.72 with a WHIP north of 1.48. Pair this with an xERA of 3.69. Daysbel could be a really good ninth-inning guy when he puts it together. It just won’t be as soon as next year.

Secondly, Pierce Johnson. One of my favorite Alex Anthopolous deals, because at the time, it looked kind of silly. (I think Tyler Kinley could be a similar situation, but that’s for another time). However, the guy has been everything the Braves needed.

Johnson is in the middle of a career year right now, pitching to just a 2.06 ERA in fifty-one appearances. He has been the most consistent Braves bullpen arm by far and has been tremendous in the seventh and eighth innings of tight ballgames. The curveball is being thrown at a career-high 72% and is certainly yielding results. When Atlanta acquired him in 2023, he was closing games for the Colorado Rockies. But that was never Atlanta’s plan with Pierce.

Closing just isn’t who the Braves want him to be. He will be a crucial part of this bullpen, but I can’t see a world where he is throwing the ninth. Especially with some of the options on the market.

The Free Agent Market

Starting with current closer Raisel Iglesias.

Iglesias has been a staple of the backend of the Braves’ bullpen since the trade deadline of 2022. Coming off one of the best years of his career, Iglesias started off 2025 rough. It was sure the Braves were going to move on from him. However, as go August 23, Iglesias has silenced critics with thirteen straight scoreless innings, resulting in nine saves. He now has twenty-one on the year.

Iglesias currently makes $16 million annually and is in the final year of his deal. Spotrac currently projects him next year at around $9M dollars a year. Iglesias has made his money using his patented change-up, and while he still uses it, he has begun throwing a sinker at a career-high clip (24%), up 6% from 2024 and 10% from 2023. The righty’s velocity and Stuff+ is down, but I do not believe it’s enough to disqualify him from the potential closer role. This seems like the perfect spot for a one-year deal.

Next up is a big one. Probably too big. Aroldis Chapman.

After a very mediocre 2024 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the lefty flamethrower has completely revamped his career. With the Boston Red Sox in 2025, Chapman has pitched to a 1.10 ERA with 23 saves in 49 innings. The fastball is still reaching triple digits and the slider’s Stuff+ is 124, the highest in years.

The main problem with Chapman being brought into Atlanta is that he is likely commanding a contract in the $20M dollar range. If he gets an AAV around this, it would put him around the top three amongst relievers. Near Edwin Diaz, Josh Hader, and Tanner Scott.

We recently broke down the Braves' payroll, and while they will have a good bit of money coming off the books, I do not see a world where Atlanta would spend that kind of money on a reliever, especially a 37-year-old, regardless of stats.

Some other, more affordable free agent closer candidates could be Evan Phillips (depending on his recovery from Tommy John surgery), Kyle Finnegan, Luke Weaver, and more.

The Trading Block

Pete Fairbanks. Now, this situation is trickier because he has a club option for $7M for the 2026 season. I do think the Tampa Bay Rays will pick up this option because it includes a buyout. This then translates to a situation similar to what the Boston Red Sox did with Craig Kimbrel in 2018: They exercised his club option to boost his trade value, then shopped him throughout the offseason. Ultimately, he was never moved, but this paid off as the Red Sox won the World Series that year.

Okay, so now that the tough part is out of the way, let’s talk numbers. Since becoming the full-time closer, the righty has produced three straight years of 20+ save seasons. He currently is 22/26 in saves this year, good for a 2.79 ERA, but just a 2.86 xERA. The underlying stats love him. Fairbanks has one of the best fastballs in the game in terms of movement, usually getting 2-3 inches of IVB more than the average heater. Paired with his hard slider, he’s incredibly difficult to hit.

The thirty-one-year-old was shopped this deadline, but was held onto by an at-the-time surging Rays team. The Fairbanks development will be an interesting one, but there is no reason for the Rays not to pick up a team-friendly option on one of the more consistent closers in the game. However, if they don’t, this could turn into a big potential free agent target for Alex Anthopolous and company.

Next up, David Bednar. Recently acquired by the New York Yankees, the righty has just one year of control left. He is set to enter his third year of arbitration, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them try to get a deal done beforehand. I would project it to be somewhere in the $8-10M dollar range. It’s no secret that the Yankees have a lot of money on the books for 2026 after a big trade deadline. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them offload this Bednar deal to try and do just that.

The righty is pitching to a 2.61 ERA thus far with 20 saves. 17 of those which came in Pittsburgh. He had not blown a save in the 2025 season (17/17), until he got to New York. Also, since coming to New York, his ERA is over one point higher (2.37 - 3.48), and his FIP is over 0.5 points higher (1.98 - 2.54).

With all of this being said, the underlying metrics still say David Bednar is an elite back-end arm. His xERA is just 2.95, his K% is still among the best in baseball at 34.3%, and his curveball still projects as a great out pitch.

Atlanta has been linked to Bednar a few times now, and I don’t think this offseason will be much different if the Yankees decide to move him. Well respected as a leader and a great teammate, this seems like something the Braves will pursue.

So Now We Wait

The Atlanta Braves have just 34 games left and are trending towards missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017. While a lot of the roster returns in 2026, including most of the lineup and starting rotation, the big question turns to the closer role.

I personally love David Bednar and think he would fit great in Atlanta. Same with Pete Fairbanks. The only problem then remains their club options and what the Rays and Yankees will do with them.

However, I think Atlanta resigning Raisel Iglesias would be big. He is going to make significantly less money and has recently shown you he could still pitch at a high level. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Atlanta tries to really strengthen the back-end of this bullpen by going after multiple guys. For example, resign Iglesias and trade for Fairbanks.

In 2024, the bullpen had the third-best ERA in baseball, 3.49. The ERA in 2025 is now 3.99, good for about 16th or so. A bolstered Atlanta bullpen with depth could be coming soon.