Mariners Trade Casey Legumina To Rays
2:08pm: The teams have announced the swap. Tampa Bay opened a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring Uceta from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.
12:55pm: The Rays are going to acquire right-hander Casey Legumina from the Mariners, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Mariners, who designated Legumina for assignment last week, will receive minor leaguer Ty Cummings in return, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make the deal official. Legumina is also out of options and will need an active roster spot when he reports to the team.
Legumina, 29 in June, is in his fourth major league season. He got limited looks with the Reds in 2023 and 2024. He was designated for assignment before the 2025 season and flipped to the Mariners. Seattle gave him a decent amount of time in the big leagues last year but he didn’t do much with the opportunity. He tossed 49 2/3 innings, allowing 5.62 earned runs per nine. His 25.1% strikeout rate was pretty good but he also gave out walks at a high clip of 11.4%.
As he struggled to produce decent results, the Mariners optioned him to the minors a few times. That burned his final option and left him out of options here in 2026. He held his roster spot to begin the year but couldn’t turn a corner. In 11 2/3 innings, his 4.63 ERA was an improvement compared to last year but with less impressive underlying numbers. He showed better control by only walking 5.7% of opponents but also saw his strikeout rate drop to 17%.
Maintaining that ERA was going to be tough, as a big factor is that he hasn’t allowed a home run yet. Also, his velocity is noticeably down. His four-seamer averaged 94.3 miles per hour last year but is down to 93.5 so far this year. His sinker has gone from 93.8 to 93 mph while his slider has dropped from 81.1 to 79.7 mph.
That got him bumped off the Seattle roster but the Rays will take a shot on him. Tampa is out to a strong 13-11 start but it’s no thanks to their bullpen. Their relief pitchers have a collective 5.64 ERA, worse than every team in the majors apart from the Astros and Royals. Injuries have taken a toll on the depth. They lost Manuel Rodríguez to Tommy John surgery last year. Both Steven Wilson and Edwin Uceta began the season on the injured list due to spring injuries. Since the regular season started, they have lost Garrett Cleavinger and Mason Englert to the IL.
The healthy guys haven’t stepped up. Yoendrys Gómez, Ian Seymour and Griffin Jax have each thrown at least nine innings and no one in that trio has an ERA below 7.00. Bryan Baker, Hunter Bigge, Kevin Kelly and Cole Sulser have been a bit better but each member of that quarter has an ERA above 4.00. There’s room in there for Legumina to earn some innings, especially if he can regain some of last year’s strikeouts and velocity.
To get Legumina on their big league club, the Rays are subtracting from their farm system. Cummings, now 24, was acquired as the player to be named later in the 2024 trade which sent Randy Arozarena to Seattle. Now the Mariners get Cummings back a little over a year later.
The right-hander has mostly worked as a starter in his minor league career. Prior to the first trade, he tossed 116 1/3 High-A innings in 2024 with a 4.17 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 50.3% ground ball rate. In 2025, he pitched in Double-A and Triple-A, logging 123 innings. His ERA improved to 3.29 but with a reduced 17.6% strikeout rate and 47.1% ground ball rate. So far in 2026, he’s been pitching in relief in Double-A. He tossed 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with a 1.69 ERA, 33.3% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate.
Perhaps the Mariners are intrigued by that recent bullpen move or maybe they will want to stretch him back out. Either way, they are probably happy to get back a guy they drafted, while giving up a guy they had already cut from their roster. Cummings will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this December if not added to the 40-man roster.
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images
Edwin Uceta Diagnosed With Subscapularis Strain
Rays reliever Edwin Uceta has been diagnosed with a subscapularis strain in his throwing shoulder, manager Kevin Cash told reporters on Monday afternoon (link via Adam Berry of MLB.com). The righty will be shut down completely for another 2-3 weeks.
Uceta was already down with a shoulder impingement. This is a different injury that arose during his rehab assignment. Uceta had made four minor league appearances and would likely have been activated this week if not for the new injury.
There’s now a decent chance he’ll end up on the 60-day injured list once the team needs a 40-man roster spot. The Rays could backdate any IL transfer to Opening Day even though it’s a different injury. Uceta won’t resume throwing until the first half of May at this point, so it’s difficult to imagine he’ll be ready for MLB action by the beginning of June.
It’s a tough hit to the Tampa Bay bullpen. Uceta has been one of their better relievers over the past two seasons and was slated for a high-leverage role. He turned in a 1.51 ERA across 41 2/3 innings two years ago. Last season’s 3.79 mark wasn’t as impressive, but he struck out almost a third of opposing hitters while tying Garrett Cleavinger for the team lead with 21 holds.
Cleavinger has also been down for the past three weeks with calf tightness. He’s on a rehab assignment and should be back within the next couple days. Tampa Bay placed Mason Englert on the 15-day IL this afternoon. They’ll be without Manuel Rodríguez for the majority of the season and are without middle reliever Steven Wilson for a couple months.
It’s not a coincidence that the relief corps has been a weakness for the first couple weeks of the season. Kevin Kelly, Griffin Jax, Bryan Baker and Hunter Bigge have taken on most of the significant innings. Bigge has the best ERA but with ugly strikeout and walk marks. Jax has similarly bleak underlying numbers and has not gotten good results. Baker has been around average, while Kelly has pitched well outside of one six-run drubbing at the hands of the Twins.
The Rays entered play Monday with a 5.38 bullpen ERA that ranks 26th in MLB. They’re 25th in strikeout/walk rate differential with the league’s third-highest home run rate.
AL East Injury Notes: Yesavage, Springer, Holliday, Uceta
Injuries come frequently in April, but the AL East seems particularly snake-bitten to begin the season. The Blue Jays have had several key players go down since the start of Spring Training. The Orioles are missing most of their young offensive core. The Rays and Red Sox haven’t had any debilitating absences, but both squads have been without important pieces.
Here’s a rundown of injury updates from around the division, starting with the reigning AL champs…
Toronto
- Trey Yesavage (shoulder) will make another rehab start on Tuesday at Triple-A. The goal will be 75 pitches, to “let him feel that one more time,” manager John Schneider told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Yesavage got up to 71 pitches in his outing with Buffalo on Wednesday.
- Jose Berrios (elbow) will make his next rehab start on Wednesday. He threw 38 pitches in his first outing on Thursday. The righty was knocked around for five earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. Fellow veteran Shane Bieber (forearm) threw a bullpen on Friday. He was recently moved to the 60-day IL. To round out the rotation injuries, Cody Ponce underwent ACL repair surgery and hopes to return for Spring Training in 2027. (h/t to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic for listing the injuries in one post)
- On the hitting side, George Springer (toe) is still hitting but has yet to progress to running. The same goes for Addison Barger (ankles), though he’s expected to start running next week. Springer is on track to make it back before Barger and might not need a rehab assignment, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.
Baltimore
- Jackson Holliday is set to be in the lineup for High-A Frederick this weekend, the team announced. The infielder is recovering from a hamate fracture. He was recently pulled off the rehab assignment after experiencing wrist soreness at Triple-A Norfolk. Holliday had scuffled to a .167/.239/.214 line in 11 games with the Tides. The second baseman’s absence has led to the emergence of Jeremiah Jackson. The 26-year-old utilityman had a 151 wRC+ heading into Friday’s action. That’s likely to go up after a go-ahead three-run homer against the Guardians.
- Adley Rutschman ran, hit, and caught a bullpen session on Friday, relays Jake Rill of MLB.com. The catcher is nursing an ankle injury. Rutschman is eligible to return on Tuesday, but he might need rehab games first.
- Also from Rill, outfielder Tyler O’Neill is not ready to return from the 7-day concussion IL. He’s been out since April 8. “Still has some boxes to check and go from there,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Obviously, with a concussion, it’s very touch and go.”
Tampa Bay
- Right-hander Edwin Uceta is still experiencing issues with his shoulder, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll be shut down for the next few days. After a pair of scoreless frames to begin his rehab assignment, Uceta has allowed three earned runs on six hits over his last two appearances.
- Gavin Lux was trending toward a Triple-A return on Friday, Topkin noted yesterday. However, the former Dodger was not in the Durham lineup tonight. Lux is working his way back from a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Saturday after injuring his ankle.
Boston
- Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com ran through several health updates for the Red Sox. Right-hander Kutter Crawford hasn’t resumed throwing and might require an MRI following elbow soreness. He missed all of 2025 with knee and wrist injuries. Crawford gave up five earned runs over three innings of work in his first rehab outing on Saturday. He reported the elbow issue shortly after.
- Reliever Justin Slaten will not return from his oblique strain when first eligible on Monday. He’s just now resuming throwing, relayed manager Alex Cora. It’s unclear when Slaten will progress to a rehab assignment.
- Left-hander Patrick Sandoval is slated for another rehab start on Sunday at Triple-A. He’s coming back from UCL surgery. Sandoval has thrown 63 and 59 pitches in his first two rehab outings.
- Sandoval’s teammate with Worcester, Tyler Uberstine, was placed on the IL with shoulder soreness. The righty was promoted earlier this season when Johan Oviedo went down with an elbow strain. Uberstine allowed a run over 2 2/3 innings in his big-league debut, taking the loss against the Padres.
- Romy Gonzalez, the lone update on the hitting side, has yet to resume baseball activities. He underwent shoulder surgery in March. Gonzalez is on the 60-day IL and won’t be back until the end of May at the earliest.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
AL East Notes: Corbin, Crawford, Pepiot, Uceta
Patrick Corbin signed a one-year, $1MM contract with the Blue Jays yesterday, and he made his organizational debut by tossing five scoreless innings and 74 pitches in a start for A-level Dunedin today. Prior to Corbin’s outing, Toronto manager John Schneider told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Sportsnet and other media that the Jays would see how the start went before deciding on any further progression. While Corbin’s unsigned status kept him from participating in a normal Spring Training, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote yesterday that Corbin has gone beyond 80-pitch workloads in his personal workouts, and tossing 74 pitches today certainly indicates that the left-hander’s arm seems pretty close to fully built up.
The recovery periods for such injured starters as Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios, and Shane Bieber will naturally factor into how Corbin is used in Toronto, as Schneider left open the possibility that the veteran could be used in more of a long relief role. “We definitely view [Corbin] as a starter or a length option. Until the dominoes start to fall back into place with Trey, José and Bieber, you look for length and how we can use it,” Schneider said.
If and when the Blue Jays get close to their full complement of starters healthy, Corbin is likely the odd man out of a rotation mix, so a bullpen role might eventually be in his future. Using Corbin in the bullpen would also add some needed southpaw depth to Toronto’s relief corps, as left-handers Mason Fluharty and Brendon Little have both struggled badly in the early going in 2026.
More from around the AL East…
- Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters that Kutter Crawford is also slated to throw four simulated innings on Monday or Tuesday before beginning a minor league rehab assignment. Crawford didn’t pitch in the majors or minors in 2025 due to both a lingering knee injury, and then wrist surgery. Between Crawford and Patrick Sandoval (Tommy John surgery) both on the verge of rehab assignments, the Sox may soon have a good deal of rotation depth. Boston already has five healthy starters in Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, and Connelly Early, plus prospect Payton Tolle as another depth option. As the cliche goes, however, a team can never have too much pitching, and Johan Oviedo is now a question mark as he battles an elbow strain.
- Ryan Pepiot threw a bullpen session on Friday, and Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times writes that the right-hander is expected back after the Rays’ April 6-12 homestand. Pepiot wasn’t expected to miss too much time after he started the season on the 15-day IL with right hip inflammation, and he projects to be out for roughly a week beyond the minimum 15-day absence. The 28-year-old Pepiot has been a solid part of Tampa’s rotation for two seasons, and the 2025 campaign saw him post a 3.86 ERA, a 24.6% strikeout rate, and a 9.0% walk rate over 167 2/3 innings.
- Also from Topkin, Edwin Uceta may be ready for a rehab assignment after tossing 22 pitches during an extended Spring Training game on Friday. Like Pepiot, Uceta also started the season on the 15-day IL, as the reliever was bothered by a right shoulder impingement that kept him from any game action during the Rays‘ big league spring camp.
Rays Add Cam Booser To 40-Man Roster
The Rays added lefty reliever Cam Booser to their 40-man roster, the team announced. He will not break camp, as the club optioned him to Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay placed righty reliever Steven Wilson on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. He’s dealing with lumbar disc inflammation and will be out for at least the first two months of the season.
Tampa Bay also announced four expected IL placements. Taylor Walls (right oblique strain) and Gavin Lux (right shoulder impingement) went on the 10-day injured list. Ryan Pepiot (right hip inflammation) and Edwin Uceta (right shoulder impingement) go on the shelf for at least 15 days. The Rays can backdate those moves to March 22.
Booser signed a minor league deal in January. That included an upward mobility clause which required the team to add him to the 40-man roster or cut him loose if another club were willing to give him a roster spot. The Rays opted for the former route, though his two remaining option years meant they can still keep him in the minors.
The 33-year-old southpaw (34 in May) had an impressive camp. He fired 11 innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts and four walks. Booser has a 95 mph fastball but leaned more heavily on his mid-80s cutter than anything else this spring. He has pitched in parts of two MLB seasons. Booser found success as a rookie with the Red Sox in 2024 but struggled after being traded to the White Sox a year ago. He allowed a 5.52 ERA with huge walk and home run rates across 31 innings for Chicago, who dropped him at the end of the year.
Rays Bullpen Notes: Uceta, Gómez, Rock
The Rays have had a fairly uneventful camp so far. They haven’t lost anyone to what appear to be major injuries. Their expected rotation is on schedule, while the majority of their projected starting lineup has been locked in since the beginning of camp.
The bullpen is the one area of the roster that’s more in flux. They announced a couple weeks ago that middle reliever Steven Wilson will begin the season on the injured list with a back issue. Meanwhile, righty Edwin Uceta has yet to pitch this spring after being delayed by shoulder inflammation.
Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times unsurprisingly writes that Uceta is not expected to be ready by Opening Day. The 28-year-old doesn’t appear to be facing a long-term absence, however. Uceta has been playing catch without issue. It’s not clear if he’ll make it into an exhibition game before camp closes. He shouldn’t need a ton of time to build up for regular season game readiness after that.
A season-opening injured list stint for Uceta would open another middle relief spot. Tampa Bay has three locks for high-leverage relief roles: Garrett Cleavinger, Griffin Jax and Bryan Baker. No one else is firmly locked into the Opening Day mix. Righties Cole Sulser and Yoendrys Gómez are out of minor league options. They need to break camp or be exposed to waivers.
Gómez was an offseason trade pickup alongside Wilson in a deal that sent outfielder Everson Pereira to the White Sox. The Rays wouldn’t have made that trade if they didn’t expect Gómez to have a strong chance of breaking camp. His case for a roster spot is bolstered by his ability to work multiple innings.
Topkin writes that the Rays plan to carry multiple long relievers to begin the season. That’ll give them some cover for starters Shane McClanahan and Steven Matz. McClanahan hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since 2023 because of various injuries. Matz is building back to rotation work after pitching out of the bullpen for the Cardinals and Red Sox last year. He only threw 76 2/3 innings. They’ll be in the rotation, but the Rays will exercise caution with their workloads early on.
Gómez made nine starts in 21 appearances a season ago, tossing 62 2/3 innings overall. He threw five innings of two-run ball over his first four appearances this spring. Gómez stepped away from the team to pitch for Venezuela during pool play of the World Baseball Classic. He tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Nicaragua on Monday.
Although Venezuela qualified for the quarterfinals, Gómez returned to Rays camp this week as he tries to nail down a roster spot. Ian Seymour and Joe Boyle are also capable of shouldering multiple innings out of the bullpen or working as rotation depth at Triple-A Durham.
Left-hander Joe Rock worked as a multi-inning depth arm last season. The 25-year-old tossed 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball over his first three big league appearances. He had shakier numbers in Triple-A, where he allowed a 5.21 earned run average across 96 2/3 innings.
Rock will begin this season back in Durham after being optioned out of MLB camp this afternoon. He’ll do so in a different role, as Adam Berry of MLB.com writes that the Rays are converting the former second-round pick to short relief. Rock worked exactly one frame in each of his five Spring Training appearances. He struck out nine and only allowed three hits and one run, though he walked six of the 23 hitters he faced.
Rays’ Edwin Uceta Experiencing Shoulder Inflammation
February 21: Uceta has inflammation and a slight impingement in his shoulder, per Rays manager Kevin Cash (link via Topkin). He received a cortisone shot and will start throwing next weekend, though it isn’t clear if he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
February 19: Rays right-hander Edwin Uceta is headed for testing after experiencing shoulder discomfort early in camp, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Uceta had been planning to pitch for his native Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans were nixed earlier in camp due to what manager Kevin Cash described as a “cranky” right shoulder. He’s been resting that shoulder and attempted to play catch today but “didn’t feel great” when he did so, per Cash.
Uceta, 28, pitched for four different organizations (Dodgers, D-backs, Mets, Cubs) before landing with the Rays on a minor league deal in the 2023-24 offseason. He’d posted a 5.80 earned run average in 40 1/3 big league innings prior to his time in Tampa Bay, but the Rays’ vaunted pitch lab immediately unlocked something in the hard-throwing righty.
In 2024, Uceta erupted with a 1.51 ERA across 41 2/3 innings, fanning a mammoth 35.8% of the batters he faced against a minuscule 5% walk rate. His 2025 follow-up wasn’t quite as dominant but still resulted in a team-leading 76 relief innings and a 3.79 earned run average. He didn’t quite replicate his sensational rate stats from the ’24 season, but his 32.1% strikeout rate was still excellent and his 8.4% walk rate was about average.
Overall, Uceta has a 2.98 ERA with terrific strikeout and walk rates in 113 2/3 innings with the Rays. His breakout has quickly thrust him into a high-leverage role. He’s saved six games and picked up 28 holds in his two years as a Ray.
With longtime closer Pete Fairbanks out the door, Uceta was among the favorites to take over ninth-inning duties for Cash. If this shoulder injury proves to be relatively minor, that could still be the case. For now, his spring ramp-up is on hold while the team awaits medical evaluation.
There are other potential implications for the Rays. They’ve been receiving recent interest in left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, who has also emerged as a quality late-inning option after being plucked from relative obscurity. However, if the Rays fear a prolonged absence for Uceta, that might make them more wary about parting with Cleavinger in any trade.
Rays’ Garrett Cleavinger Drawing Trade Interest
Teams interested in left-handed bullpen help have been calling the Rays about Garrett Cleavinger, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes. There isn’t any indication that a deal is close, and Rosenthal didn’t specify any clubs in pursuit of Cleavinger’s services.
Cleavinger (who turns 32 in April) is entering his seventh MLB season, and his fourth full season in a Rays uniform. Tampa Bay acquired the southpaw from the Dodgers at the 2022 trade deadline, and while Cleavinger showed some promise in the early stages of his big league career, he became one of many pitchers to hit another level of production after joining the Rays. Cleavinger has a 2.96 ERA over 152 relief innings since arriving in Tampa.
In 2025, Cleavinger enjoyed his best season yet, posting a 2.35 ERA, 33.7% strikeout rate, and a 7.4% walk rate over 61 1/3 innings. Just about all of his Statcast metrics were solidly above average or (in the case of his strikeout and whiff rates) elite, plus Cleavinger enjoyed some good luck in the form of a .244 BABIP and a whopping 91.6% strand rate. Cleavinger has delivered strong results against both left-handed and right-handed batters over his career, and 2025 was no exception — righty-swingers had a .602 OPS against Cleavinger, while left-handed hitters did slightly better with a .620 OPS.
There wasn’t much that seemed fluky in Cleavinger’s 2025 performance, so even if the Rays feel they would be selling high on the lefty, there’s no reason to believe Cleavinger wouldn’t still be a valuable reliever in 2026 or beyond. Broadly speaking, the Rays are always open for trade talks on any player, so it wouldn’t be entirely shocking if Cleavinger was dealt prior to Opening Day. However, there doesn’t seem to be any real pressing reason for Tampa to move on from Cleavinger right now, given both his importance to the Rays’ bullpen and his modest salary situation.
Cleavinger is earning $2.4MM in 2026 and has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining before he qualifies for free agency following the 2027 campaign. Even though Tampa Bay is forever looking to limit its budget, Cleavinger is a bargain at $2.4MM if he duplicates anything close to last year’s numbers, and an arbitration raise next winter may be limited due to a relative lack of saves.
The Rays don’t have a set closer heading into the 2026 season, as Cleavinger, Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, and Bryan Baker are all expected to earn save opportunities. It is possible one of these pitchers emerges from the committee to become more of a full-time closer, but Cleavinger’s status as the only left-handed reliever projected to be part of Tampa’s bullpen could make him more suited for situational work rather than save situations. The relative lack of left-handed relief depth is another reason the Rays would be hesitant to deal Cleavinger for anything less than a superb offer.
Speaking of the Rays’ bullpen mix, Uceta is dealing with some shoulder soreness, manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other reporters. “We’re totally not concerned at all and have every intention of him being ready for Opening Day,” Cash said, though as a precaution, Uceta won’t pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Cleavinger and Jax are both slated for WBC duty as part of the United States team’s bullpen.
Edwin Uceta Wins Arbitration Hearing
Right-hander Edwin Uceta won his arbitration hearing against the Rays, Ari Alexander of 7News reports. He’ll be paid the $1.525MM salary figure he and his agent at Nova Sports submitted rather than the $1.2MM sum submitted by the team. Players have now won the first four arbitration hearings of the 2026 season.
The 28-year-old Uceta is the latest success story for Tampa Bay’s pitch lab. The Rays were the journeyman right-hander’s fifth organization in three years when they got their hands on him in 2024. He came to the Rays organization with a career 5.80 ERA in 40 1/3 frames across parts of three seasons.
Tampa Bay near immediately unlocked something in the hard-throwing righty. Uceta exploded for 41 2/3 innings of 1.51 ERA ball with a mammoth 35.8% strikeout rate against a minuscule 5% walk rate in 2024. He followed that by tossing a team-leading 76 innings out of the ‘pen in 2025. His 3.79 ERA was up from the year prior but still plenty serviceable. His rate stats trended in the wrong direction — 32.1 K%, 8.4 BB% — but were still strong marks overall, particularly the strikeout rate.
Overall, Uceta has a 2.98 ERA with terrific strikeout and walk rates in 113 2/3 innings with the Rays. His breakout has quickly thrust him into a high-leverage role. He’s saved six games and picked up 28 holds in his two years as a Ray, and with longtime closer Pete Fairbanks out the door, Uceta could find himself stepping into Tampa Bay’s ninth-inning vacancy before long. That role, coupled with this week’s arbitration win, would position him nicely for future raises moving forward.
This is Uceta’s first trip through the arbitration process. He’s a Super Two player (2.150 years of service), meaning he’s controllable through 2029 and will be arb-eligible four times instead of the standard three.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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