With Raisel Iglesias off the board, several free-agent closers remain available as the Orioles seek a 2026 solution.
The free-agent closer market has begun to move, and as expected, the Baltimore Orioles are right in the mix.
According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, the Orioles were among the teams showing interest in Raisel Iglesias before he came off the board Wednesday. The veteran closer returned to the Atlanta Braves on a one-year, $16 million deal, forcing Baltimore to pursue other options
Iglesias, who turns 36 in January, has made $16 million in each of the past three seasons. He struggled to a 6.75 ERA through his first 25 appearances in 2025 but returned to form with a 1.25 ERA over the 43.1 innings that followed, finishing with a respectable 3.21 ERA. The right-hander recorded 29 saves in 34 chances and will enter 2026 with 253 for his career.
Adding an experienced stopgap closer would be ideal for the Orioles, who will be without Félix Bautista for most, if not all, of 2026. The former All-Star underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum in August after posting a 2.60 ERA and 13.0 K/9 rate across 34.2 innings.
Though Iglesias is now off the board, multiple available closers could hold down the fort in Bautista’s absence:
High-end solutions: Edwin Díaz, Robert Suárez
Díaz, who turns 32 in March, opted out of the final two years and $38 million on his contract after putting together one of the best seasons of his career. He finished 2025 with a 1.63 ERA, 38% strikeout rate, and 8.1% walk rate in 66.1 innings, earning NL Reliever of the Year honors.
The three-time All-Star is said to be seeking a deal similar to the record-breaking five-year, $102 million contract he signed with the New York Mets in 2022. Though he may not get exactly that given his age and the fact that he was tagged with a qualifying offer, the hard-throwing right-hander should still command a lucrative multi-year contract.
Suárez, who will be 35 on Opening Day, is more likely to be limited to a two-year deal because of his age, but his fastball is showing no signs of regression. He averaged 98.6 mph on his heater this past season and was excellent for the San Diego Padres, posting a 2.97 ERA and 0.90 WHIP while leading the NL with 40 saves.
His older brother, Albert, has spent the past two seasons with the Orioles and similarly broke out after pitching overseas. While signing an aging closer to replace Bautista did not work the last time Baltimore tried it (Craig Kimbrel), Suárez’s steady velocity and elite walk rate (5.9%) offer optimism that history would not repeat itself.
High risk, high reward: Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley
Williams, 31, is a two-time Reliever of the Year Award winner but may come as a bargain after a rocky 2025 campaign with the New York Yankees. He arrived in the Bronx with a career 1.83 ERA, but that number spiked after he posted a 4.79 ERA in 67 appearances this past season.
Though he bounced in and out of the closer role, there are reasons to believe Williams can rebound in 2026. Advanced metrics such as expected ERA (3.08) and fielding independent pitching (2.68) suggest he did not pitch as poorly as his overall numbers show, while his strikeout rate (34.7%) remained among the best in baseball.
Helsley, 31, had a dominant run as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer and is just one season removed from leading MLB with 49 saves. The two-time All-Star imploded after joining the New York Mets at the trade deadline in July, posting a 7.20 ERA and 1.80 WHIP over 22 appearances.
Like Williams, Helsley’s top-tier stuff — including a 100 mph fastball and 90 mph slider — will help teams look past what was statistically an outlier of a bad season. Though they may not get the Díaz-like contracts they would have commanded after a typical year, both should still land solid deals.
Steady short-term answers: Pete Fairbanks, Kenley Jansen
Fairbanks, who turns 32 in December, had his $11 million club option declined by the Tampa Bay Rays after posting a 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 61 appearances this past season. The right-hander has been one of the better late-inning arms in baseball since 2020, though his strikeout numbers have sharply declined in recent years.
Jansen, 38, brings plenty of mileage with 16 major league seasons under his belt but remains an effective closer at this stage of his career. He has made at least 50 appearances in each of the past five seasons, and in 2025 posted a 2.59 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He recorded 29 saves to bring his career total to 476 — two short of Lee Smith for third most in MLB history.
Unlike the names higher on this list, Fairbanks and Jansen could wind up settling for a modest contract between one and two years. Both would be clear upgrades to the back end of the Orioles’ bullpen, even if their current ceilings are not as high as other free agents.
