The Tampa Bay Rays are going back to the postseason. A 98-win regular season – put up against the expectations of literally everybody, especially at CBS – saw them win the American League East pennant, bypass the wild card altogether, and have ample time to prepare to face the winner of the New York Yankees–Boston Red Sox Wild Card Series.
Unfortunately, though, a common by-product of success is a glut. The not-entirely-bad problem the Rays now face is the limit on number of credible pitching options competing for limited places. They have a lot – more than they will need for a five-game series over eight days. Someone good will have to be dropped.
Rays Have A Lot Of Options By Design
A postseason roster contains 26 players, with a maximum of 13 pitchers. In anticipation of a Drew Rasmussen/Nick Martinez/Freddy Peralta three-man rotation – which should be all that is required, even if the series goes five games, due to the amount of off-days in the series – this leaves ten bullpen slots for about twelve arms.
All-Star closer Bryan Baker, the consistently-deceptive Kevin Kelly and the out-of-nowhere breakout relief star Cam Booser form a very strong high leverage foundation at the back end of the relief group. Tyler Wells, if healthy, was added from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline to be the fourth, and although Wells was injured for the final stretch of the regular season, he is expected to return in time.
Elsewhere, while they are not ever going to be the high-leverage options, veterans Cole Sulser and Steven Matz made their bids to be candidates for additional places with their late-season improvements. Sulser allowed one earned run in seven innings after returning from injury in August and had an excellent last two months after a sluggish first half, while Matz had a 1.59 ERA over an 11-inning stretch following an August absence. Casey Legumina, Ty Johnson and Brody Hopkins also provided further alternatives, and although the latter two are pieces for the future given brief September airings not expected or needed in the present, Legumina’s career-best campaign puts him on the radar.
There is also competition from pitchers who have worked as starters. Beyond Rasmussen, Peralta and Martinez – and in anticipation that oft-injured staff ace Shane McClanahan is unavailable, which has yet to be confirmed – Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour will be available for bulk innings or shorter relief assignments. Keeping both would give Tampa Bay protection against an early exit by a starter, while consuming places that could otherwise go to conventional relievers.
That is twelve, not including McClanahan, Hopkins and Johnson. And if that is the case, the final spot may be a battle between two of their best arms in 2025, who have not had the best 2026 seasons.
Two Veterans Lacking Momentum
Both Manuel Rodríguez and Garrett Cleavinger have struggled with injuries and injury-related control in 2026 that have seen then fall some way short of their excellent best over the previous two seasons.
Their situations differ somewhat. Rodríguez’s recent return to the roster follows an extended recovery from elbow surgery and another interruption caused by a lower-back strain. Cleavinger meanwhile has been dealing with left forearm tightness after a season in which his results deteriorated from his strong 2025 performance, and attempts to pitch through it failed.
Both have already demonstrated that he can be an effective member of Tampa Bay’s bullpen. In 2025, Rodriguez posted a 2.08 ERA across 31 appearances, striking out 25 batters and walking six in 30.1 innings, while Cleavinger was Pete Fairbanks’s set-up man for three years, recording a 2.35 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 61.1 innings in 2025. This year, however, his ERA rose to 4.79 across 41.1 innings, with 54 strikeouts and 22 walks.
A postseason selection has to account for what a pitcher can provide immediately. Past success is relevant in that evaluation, certainly, but the Rays also need confidence that a returning reliever can maintain his command, recover between appearances and handle the workload required during an important playoff series. Cleavinger’s quirky and deceptive left-handed delivery offers a potential advantage when constructing the bullpen, yet handedness alone does not guarantee a place, particularly when other pitchers can cover similar situations or provide more innings.
Rodríguez and Cleavinger therefore remain plausible selections, as well as plausible omissions. When healthy, both are clearly in over Sulser and Matz (and likely others), but both might not be. Tampa Bay’s depth gives it several ways to construct the staff, and indeed their entire roster – they might not want 13 position players, or might even go to 14 with Kenny Piper as a third catching option. It all remains to be determined. Whichever combination they choose, though, will leave at least one highly capable Rays pitcher on the outside looking in.
Rays Forced to Drop Quality Bullpen Arm