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.
should be claimed or a rule 5 selection this offseason.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pair of brothers who can pitch
Come on tigers