When was the last time each MLB team had a 40-save closer?

Long known as the high-leverage role out of a given team’s bullpen, reaching 40 saves in a season requires a combination of elite performance and lucky circumstances.

With baseball back in full swing as this MLB season enters its third week, fans of all 30 teams have already been treated to plenty of intense, high-leverage moments involving their clubs.

There’s perhaps no greater feeling of intensity for a fan than hoping your team hangs on to a narrow lead in the ninth inning, with the closer serving as the last line of defense.

While so much of the strategy and expectations around how a pitching staff is managed has changed greatly in the past few decades, the closer role has remained reliably steady throughout that entire time.

It isn’t hard to see how a closer’s role and routine often isn’t affected by the shuffling that goes on elsewhere in pitching staffs – with the primary difference today simply being the amount of relievers that typically precede a closer’s outing in any given game.

For decades leading up to the recent pitching renaissance that began in the early-to-mid 2010’s, the closer would often be one of a very few, or in some cases, the only high-leverage reliever in a bullpen, as starting pitchers were often entrusted to go as deep into the game as their performance and bodies would allow.

Of course things are much different today. Bullpens are highly optimized, while starters are usually put on an extremely short leash once they reach the third time around the lineup – whenever that may be. Instead of having just one very effective, hard-throwing reliever as a closer, teams now often employ a slew of skilled relief pitchers, many of whom have been perfecting the craft of bullpen pitching since their minor league and college days, ending the long era of relievers simply being converted starters.

Still, a closer’s expectations remain quite simple and essentially unchanged. Finish the job that was started by the starting pitcher and the preceding relievers. Strategy hasn’t changed much in this regard – closers usually enter the game in a tie game or with a lead of three or fewer runs in the ninth inning, with four- and five-out saves still relatively common when the scenario dictates it.

Therefore, unlike other counting stats such as wins and innings pitched, there hasn’t been a noticeable shift in how many saves the league leader has each year – typically ranging somewhere between the mid-40s and low-50s. While being on a great team helps in reaching this accomplishment, it’s far from a guarantee – with closers needing the right amount of close games while they’re rested in addition to completing the task at hand of retiring the final hitters.

This keeps the 40-save milestone as a widely regarded elite achievement for MLB closers, with typically only a handful of relievers reaching the mark each year. With that said, all 30 teams have had a closer save 40 games in a season at least once, with 28 of the 30 clubs having at least one 40-save closer since the turn of the century.

Beginning with the most recent occurrences, here’s a look at the last time each MLB team had a closer save 40 games in a season:

This list does not include players who reached the total while playing for multiple teams in a season.

1. Cleveland Guardians: 2026, Cade Smith (41 saves)
2. Tampa Bay Rays: 2026, Bryan Baker (41 saves)
3. Kansas City Royals: 2025, Carlos Estévez (42 saves)
4. San Diego Padres: 2025, Robert Suarez (40 saves)
5. St. Louis Cardinals: 2024, Ryan Helsley (49 saves)
6. Atlanta Braves: 2022, Kenley Jansen (41 saves)
7. Seattle Mariners: 2018, Edwin Díaz (57 saves)
8. Colorado Rockies: 2018, Wade Davis (43 saves)
9. Boston Red Sox: 2018, Craig Kimbrel (42 saves)
10. Los Angeles Dodgers: 2017, Kenley Jansen (41 saves)
11. New York Mets: 2016, Jeurys Familia (51 saves)
12. Baltimore Orioles: 2016, Zack Britton (47 saves)
13. Detroit Tigers: 2016, Francisco Rodríguez (44 saves)
14. Miami Marlins: 2016, AJ Ramos (40 saves)
15. Pittsburgh Pirates: 2015, Mark Melancon (51 saves)
16. Los Angeles Angels: 2015, Huston Street (40 saves)
17. Milwaukee Brewers: 2014, Francisco Rodríguez (44 saves)
18. New York Yankees: 2013, Mariano Rivera (44 saves)
19. Texas Rangers: 2013, Joe Nathan (43 saves)
20. Washington Nationals: 2013, Rafael Soriano (43 saves)
21. Chicago White Sox: 2013, Addison Reed (40 saves)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks: 2011, J.J. Putz (45 saves)
23. San Francisco Giants: 2010, Brian Wilson (48 saves)
24. Cincinnati Reds: 2010, Francisco Cordero (40 saves)
25. Minnesota Twins: 2009, Joe Nathan (47 saves)
26. Houston Astros: 2008, José Valverde (44 saves)
27. Philadelphia Phillies: 2008, Brad Lidge (41 saves)
28. Athletics: 2003, Keith Foulke (43 saves)
29. Chicago Cubs: 1998, Rod Beck (51 saves)
30. Toronto Blue Jays: 1993, Duane Ward (45 saves)