Headlines

  • Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson
  • Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats
  • Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List
  • Bryce Harper Has Tear In UCL, Won’t Throw For Four Weeks
  • Padres Sign Robinson Cano
  • Gerardo Parra Retires
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Designate Cole Sulser

By Anthony Franco | September 29, 2019 at 11:36am CDT

The Rays have designated right-handed reliever Cole Sulser for assignment. His 40-man roster spot was needed for the activation of Yandy Díaz, which has become official. Sulser, 29, made his MLB debut September 6 and has given Tampa 7.1 scoreless relief innings since getting the call.

Originally a 25th-round draftee by Cleveland, Sulser put up such elite minor-league numbers to catch the attention of Tampa’s front office, who acquired him as a lesser-known piece in the three-team offseason trade that, ironically enough, also brought in Díaz. Sulser did more than warrant the Rays’ faith, tossing 66 sparkling innings for Triple-A Durham, continuing his track record of minor-league success. Add in Sulser’s strong early returns in the big leagues, and it’s clear he’s a victim of the Rays’ crowded roster rather than underperformance.

In his brief MLB time, Sulser’s shown a 93.4 MPH fastball, per Statcast, backed up by a slider and sparingly-used changeup. On the surface, it’s somewhat pedestrian stuff for an MLB reliever, perhaps explaining how Sulser has waited so long to get to the game’s highest level. That said, he has continued to get outs whenever he’s been asked, and his 32.6% strikeout rate in Triple-A is hardly that of a pitch-to-contact arm.

As with Kean Wong last week, it seems the Rays are somewhat victims of their own roster depth. Like Sulser, Wong wasn’t a top prospect but came with long-term control and a track record of high minors performance, and the Angels claimed him when the Rays cut him loose to activate Brandon Lowe.  It would hardly be surprising to see another team do the same with Sulser.

Share 0 Retweet 2 Send via email0

Tampa Bay Rays Cole Sulser

Latest On Brewers’ Outfield Injuries
Main
Joe Maddon Out As Cubs Manager
View Comments (9)

Comments

  1. DarkSide830

    3 years ago

    should be claimed or a rule 5 selection this offseason.

    Reply
    • jbigz12

      3 years ago

      Makes absolutely no sense to take him in the rule 5. If a team is interested they would put the claim in now and have the ability to shuttle him back and forth between AAA.

      Reply
      • DarkSide830

        3 years ago

        i would assume not, but as a player that looks MLB ready, he may be an attractive option for a contender, but they may not want to add him to the 40 now, and may wish to wait until expiring contracts open up 40-man spots.

        Reply
    • ivpaul

      3 years ago

      Sulser will be claimed by some team in the next 48 hours, based on his September performance for the Rays.. My guess is Seattle, Detroit or another team low on the waiver claim totem pole, since teams with worst records get priority in such claims.

      Reply
  2. Phillies2017

    3 years ago

    The Rays have a great problem right now. If Cole Sulser and Kean Wong are the two lowest guys on your 40-man roster, that’s a statement. Sulser could be an excellent middle relief, set-up type player and comes with options and control.

    Reply
  3. Melchez

    3 years ago

    Tigers should jump all over taking this guy. He’s better than many of the bums on their roster. Same could have been said about Wong too.
    Rays have some more guys that they will lose because they are very deep.

    Reply
  4. Henry Limpet

    3 years ago

    Pirates have a guy named Beau Sulser in double a (Altoona).
    He is 4 years younger than Cole Sulser.
    He went to the same college, (Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire), and was born in California like Cole was, (Beau in Escondido & Cole in Poway, California).

    I would bet that Beau is related to Cole somehow, but since there are no longer any actual journalists in this world, I can’t be sure.
    It would be kind of weird if they weren’t related, actually.

    Anyhow, the Pirates should grab Cole Sulser up in a heartbeat if they can, but instead, their scouts are probably busy pounding the tables for more guys who are lousy.

    Reply
    • Ataylor21

      3 years ago

      Pair of brothers who can pitch

      Reply
  5. Djtigers42

    3 years ago

    Come on tigers

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson

    Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats

    Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List

    Bryce Harper Has Tear In UCL, Won’t Throw For Four Weeks

    Padres Sign Robinson Cano

    Gerardo Parra Retires

    Mariners Promote George Kirby, Place Ken Giles On 60-Day IL

    Diamondbacks To Promote Alek Thomas

    A’s Reinstate Ramon Laureano, Designate Jorge Juan

    Mets Release Robinson Cano

    Twins To Promote Royce Lewis

    Carlos Correa Diagnosed With Bruised Finger, May Avoid Injured List

    Miguel Sano To Undergo Surgery To Repair Torn Meniscus In Knee

    Twins Promote Jose Miranda

    Royals Promote MJ Melendez

    Recent

    Rays To Place Brandon Lowe On Injured List

    Pirates Claim Tyler Heineman, Designate Andrew Knapp

    Mariners Select Roenis Elias

    Tigers Place Austin Meadows, Victor Reyes On 10-Day IL

    White Sox Select Johnny Cueto

    Royals Fire Hitting Coach Terry Bradshaw

    NL West Notes: Melancon, Dodgers, Bryant

    Latest On Padres’ Rotation Plans

    Xander Bogaerts Open To In-Season Extension Talks

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Story Rumors
    • Frankie Montas Rumors
    • Michael Conforto Rumors
    • Arbitration Tracker
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version