Finding The Rays’ Closer Replacement

There was a time in the not-so-distant past that Tampa Bay shuffled through closers every season. Manager Kevin Cash took over in 2015. Over the next eight seasons, the club had seven different saves leaders. Alex Colome was the only reliever to pace the team in back-to-back seasons (2016 and 2017). That changed in 2023, when Pete Fairbanks took over as the full-time closer.

Fairbanks racked up 75 saves over the past three seasons. He’s been Cash’s go-to stopper when healthy. The right-hander ranks third in franchise history with 90 saves. He would have almost certainly passed Colome (95) and Roberto Hernandez (101) had he remained with the organization for another year. Instead, Tampa Bay declined Fairbanks’ $11MM option and allowed him to hit free agency. He signed a one-year, $13MM deal with the Marlins on Christmas Eve.

The Rays will now need to fill the void left by Fairbanks. Considering the organization didn’t want to pay a reasonable price to keep him, the new closer will likely be an internal choice. Tampa Bay has a long history of manufacturing solid relievers, with Fairbanks himself being part of that lineage. These are the potential candidates…

Edwin Uceta

Uceta was the primary high-leverage righty behind Fairbanks last season. He led the bullpen with 76 innings and tied for the team lead with 21 holds. Uceta only had one save in 2025, but he previously served as the closer when Fairbanks missed time in 2024. The right-hander recorded the first five saves of his MLB career that season.

The closer-caliber stuff is there for Uceta. His fastball, changeup, and cutter all had whiff rates above 31% last season. He has a 15.5% swinging-strike rate for his career. The main issue is the long ball. Uceta gave up 11 home runs in 2025, which ranked in the top 10 among relievers. He had a healthy 34.4% fly ball rate and a massive 29.5% pulled air contact rate. A propensity to allow fly balls to the pull side is a scary trait for a reliever called on to protect small leads.

Griffin Jax

Acquired at the trade deadline for  Taj Bradley, Jax was set to be the closer in waiting. He had been the setup man in Minnesota behind Jhoan Duran, though he had forced somewhat of a timeshare in 2024. Jax earned a career-high 10 saves that season. He opened the year as the closer with Duran dealing with an oblique injury, and was still called upon to finish games even when the incumbent returned. The 2025 campaign didn’t begin as smoothly, as Jax had a 4.50 ERA when he was dealt to Tampa Bay, but a 2.08 SIERA and a 1.79 xFIP suggested he had been unlucky.

The change of scenery didn’t help Jax. He allowed seven earned runs in his first 7 1/3 innings with Tampa Bay. Jax allowed three home runs in that stretch, including a game-losing three-run blast to Cal Raleigh in early August. He closed the season with 10 scoreless appearances, though they mostly came in low-leverage spots. Jax also served as an opener in two games down the stretch.

Garrett Cleavinger (honorable mention)

FanGraphs’ bullpen depth chart lists each of Uceta, Jax, and Cleavinger as closers. It’s fair to include Cleavinger, given his high-leverage work last season. He matched Uceta with 21 holds as the preferred lefty setup man. However, Cleavinger’s candidacy has a clear flaw. He’s the only left-handed reliever on the 40-man roster. There’s virtually no chance he’ll get the closer job without another lefty in the bullpen.

Bryan Baker

Baker had the makings of the unheralded reliever that Tampa Bay turns into a shutdown guy. He spiked a 32.5% strikeout rate through three months last season with the Orioles. The Rays traded for him in early July. Baker made a significant pitch mix tweak in 2025, doubling his changeup usage and prioritizing it ahead of his slider. The changeup was Baker’s best whiff pitch by far. It also held opponents to a measly .128 batting average.

While the jump in strikeouts was nice, Baker still got hit incredibly hard. He gave up barrels at a 12.6% clip, which ranked in the 1st percentile. His 48.3% hard-hit rate put him in the 3rd percentile. Unless Baker can find a way to miss bats and limit damage, he’s likely ticketed for the middle innings.

Hunter Bigge

While he might not break camp with the team, Bigge looms as the potential closer of the future. Tampa Bay acquired him at the 2024 trade deadline in the deal that sent Isaac Paredes to the Cubs. Bigge had dominated at Triple-A that season, earning his first big-league promotion. He pitched well in his brief time in Chicago, then continued to excel with the Rays.

Bigge’s 2025 season was wrecked by two injuries. He went down with a lat strain in early May. In June, he was hit in the face by a 105 mph foul ball. Bigge suffered multiple facial fractures due to the incident. He did not make it back on the mound.

Bigge has the premium velocity and putaway pitch (a wipeout slider) to succeed as a closer. His recovery timeline isn’t clear, but he should be available to contribute on the big-league club at some point. Considering the long layoff, Bigge might be more of a 2027 closer candidate.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images