The Rays Are Working Their Bullpen Magic Once Again

If there’s one thing the Tampa Bay Rays are always good at, it’s moving on from players before they become too expensive and then replacing them with big league-ready talent of similar quality. Time and time again, we’ve seen the Rays make franchise-altering trades only to feel little to no impact by the loss, simply because of how deep the rest of their organization is.

This exact scenario is playing out in the 2024 season. Multiple high-end position players and starter Zach Eflin were sent packing at the trade deadline, but Jason Adam and Phil Maton were the two bullpen arms removed from the equation.

In their place(s), a pair of underrated heroes have stepped up. Both were already in the organization before the deadline came around, but their roles have hugely increased since then. In fact, they’ve been practically carrying the team during the month of August.

Since the trade deadline on July 30, the Rays bullpen has the single lowest ERA in all of baseball. It isn’t even close either. They’ve thrown the second-most innings while boasting the second-lowest walk rate and highest strand rate as well.

Let’s take a look at two pitchers who are elevating their games more than the rest.

Rays Bullpen Magic Once Again on Full Display

Pete Fairbanks is on the shelf with a lat injury, Drew Rasmussen is back from yet another injury and Joel Kuhnel, who’s on his third team this year, is soaking up innings as well. Once again, the Rays are taking full advantage of what they’ve got, even if the group isn’t all that sexy on paper.

Edwin Uceta

You can look at Uceta’s Baseball Reference page for a long time and his ascent from unreliable middle-reliever to shutdown stopper just doesn’t make any sense on the surface. He logged time in each of the past three years at the big league level but just couldn’t stick. As a matter of fact, he was cut six different times in a two-year span before landing in Tampa Bay.

Now, he’s made 19 appearances for the Rays and has struck out 36 batters and walked only four in 30 innings of work. His H/9 has dropped by four hits compared to years past and his walk rate is also down over two full walks. The Rays are using him often and for more than one inning at a time and he’s been dominant.

Amongst pitchers with 30 or more innings this year, Uceta is second in ERA (0.90), first in xERA (1.53) and second in FIP (1.60). A lowered arm angle and repertoire adjustment has done the trick for the 26-year-old. He swapped out a four-seamer for a cutter and swapped out a curveball for a sweeper. An increase in changeup usage has also worked wonders for him.

	Usage	AVG	xBA	wOBA	Whiff%	Stuff+
Change	35.2%	.077	.157	.093	39.0%	111
Sinker	35.5%	.103	.097	.124	31.2%	130
Cutter	24.3%	.233	.255	.271	23.0%	127
Sweeper	4.7%	.000	.035	.000	14.3%	90
Curve	0.7%	.000	.000	.000	50.0%	101

“The idea is that the cutter will help me mix my pitches better, so the changeup can have a bigger impact,” Uceta explained (via DRaysBay). “I’m using my cutter against both righties and lefties. Using my cutter frequently helps my change up to be as effective as it is. The cutter moves in the opposite direction of the change up, which plays into my favor because the change is the pitch that keeps batters on their toes.”

Manuel Rodriguez

While Uceta has been utterly dominant to the point where he’s stealing all the headlines, Rodriguez and his contributions cannot be shrugged off. Acquired last year in a minor trade with the Cubs, he had been no more than high-minors depth until this year, when he was promoted for good once Maton was traded away at the deadline.

In 26 outings, Rodriguez has a 1.80 ERA and 223 ERA+, striking out 24 batters and walking nine in 25 innings of work. His usage is limited to single-inning work, but he’s unscored upon in his five “high leverage” innings this year.

	Usage	AVG	xBA	wOBA	Whiff%	Stuff+
Slider	48.1%	.192	.187	.246	34.9%	150
Sinker	33.0%	.292	.330	.382	12.1%	102
Four-seam	17.9%	.077	.135	.186	30.0%	90

Admittedly, Rodriguez’s production hasn’t quite been up to the same speed as Uceta’s has, but that slider is filthy. He’s proving that he belongs at the game’s highest level and the odds of him being nothing more than a trade replacement again are low. The Rays have always done well at getting the most out of their bullpen and these two hurlers are proof of that.

The Rays’ player development group is consistently regarded as one of the best in all of baseball. Time and time again, they’ve proven that this is an honor they’re definitely deserving of. The front office and staff has always been able to do a lot with a little, and while the club is only 64-63 this year, that bullpen has been ridiculous (in the best way).