| News |
|---|
|
Bryan Baker Bryan Baker Slams door for save No. 21
Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 7:46 PM
Baker threw a clean ninth inning for the save Saturday against the Diamondbacks.
Analysis: Baker has now successfully converted 10 saves in a row. With 21 now for the year, the right-hander trails only Cade Smith for the major-league lead in saves. Baker has been close to a lights-out closer since seizing Tampa Bay's ninth-inning gig, posting a 1.95 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB over 32.1 innings with only three blown saves. |
|
Michael Grove Michael Grove Nearly flawless in season debut
Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 7:33 PM
Grove (1-0) earned the win Saturday against the Diamondbacks, allowing no runs on one hit and no walks in three innings of relief. He struck out four.
Analysis: Making his season debut for the Rays, Grove was almost perfect out of the bullpen as a bulk reliever Saturday. The 29-year-old right-hander had a delayed start to the year due to March 2025 surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, but he looks primed to serve as Tampa Bay's primary long reliever while Steven Matz (ankle) and Jesse Scholtens (wrist) are on the injured list. Grove flooded the zone for 26 strikes (34 pitches), but he certainly doesn't appear to be fully stretched out yet. |
|
Jonny DeLuca Jonny DeLuca Sitting Saturday
Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 3:06 PM
DeLuca isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Arizona, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: DeLuca will step out of the starting nine Saturday after going 0-for-4 to begin the series Friday. His absence will allow Victor Mesa to start in right field while batting fourth. |
|
Cam Booser Cam Booser Records second hold
Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 11:10 PM
Booser picked up a hold Friday against Arizona, recording the final out of the sixth inning.
Analysis: After beginning the season with Triple-A Durham, Booser has since carved out a key spot in the Rays' bullpen. Through 9.1 innings thus far, the 34-year-old left-hander has a 0.96 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB with two holds. |
|
Junior Caminero Junior Caminero Reaches 20 homers in win
Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 10:02 PM
Caminero went 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk and three RBI in Friday's 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Analysis: One night after launching three homers, Caminero gave the Rays a lead they wouldn't relinquish with a three-run shot in the first inning. The 22-year-old has now gone deep five times over his past four games, going 7-for-15 with 12 RBI during that stretch. On the season, he's slashing .285/.379/.527 with 20 home runs, 46 RBI and 50 runs scored across 346 plate appearances. |
|
Nick Martinez Nick Martinez Earns seventh win
Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 9:57 PM
Martinez (7-2) earned the win against the Diamondbacks on Friday, allowing one run on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Analysis: Martinez surrendered a solo homer in the first inning but cruised from there, throwing 62 of 85 pitches for strikes and falling one out shy of a quality start. Other than a six-run blowup June 3, the 35-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 15 of 16 outings this season. He'll carry a 2.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 58:17 K:BB across 94.2 innings into a road matchup with the Royals next week. |
|
Cole Sulser Cole Sulser Starting bullpen game
Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 9:00 PM
Sulser will start Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: The Rays are going to rely on their bullpen to get through Saturday's contest, and it will be Sulser getting the call to open the game. The 36-year-old righty owns a 5.40 ERA and 1.55 WHIP through 31.2 innings on the season, but he's fired 5.1 shutout frames while striking out eight batters over his last four appearances. |
|
Chandler Simpson Chandler Simpson Out of Friday's lineup
Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 4:24 PM
Simpson is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against Arizona, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: Simpson will ride the bench for the series opener against the Diamondbacks despite recording at least one hit in six of his last seven games played. Victor Mesa will replace Simpson in left field and bat seventh Friday. |
|
Shane McClanahan Shane McClanahan Won't start this weekend
Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 1:57 PM
McClanahan won't make a start during the Rays' series against the Diamondbacks this weekend and will be pushed back several days in the pitching schedule as Tampa Bay looks to monitor his workload, John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: After not making any appearance at the big-league level over the past two seasons while recovering from August 2023 Tommy John surgery and then a nerve issue in his elbow that popped up last spring and required another procedure in August, McClanahan has staged a healthy and successful comeback in 2026. He's posted a 3.30 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 73.2 innings, but the 29-year-old southpaw has shown signs of wearing down of late. In his last four starts, McClanahan has gone 0-3 while yielding 16 runs (12 earned) on 25 hits and nine walks across 18.2 frames. The Rays seem confident that no injury is behind his recent struggles, but he'll nonetheless get some extended rest. The team has yet to announce who will replace him in the rotation Saturday. |
|
Jacob Melton Jacob Melton Returns to Triple-A lineup
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 2:41 PM
Melton (ankle) went 1-for-4 with a run scored Wednesday in his return to the Triple-A Durham lineup after being reinstated from the 7-day injured list Tuesday.
Analysis: Melton was back in action at Durham for the first time since April 18 after a left ankle sprain kept him on the shelf for more than two months. Prior to being activated, Melton completed a five-game rehab assignment in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, where he went 6-for-11 with a home run, two stolen bases and three walks. |
|
Ian Seymour Ian Seymour Dominant in bulk role
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 1:47 PM
Seymour (4-1) earned the win Thursday over the Royals, allowing just one walk and no hits over 6.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
Analysis: Working as the Rays' bulk reliever, Seymour was nearly perfect Thursday, allowing just one baserunner while setting a season high with seven strikeouts. Since moving into a starting/bulk-relief role, Seymour's posted a 2.84 ERA with a 0.84 WHIP and 19 strikeouts across four outings (19 innings). Overall, his ERA sits at 4.32 with a 1.14 WHIP and 52:20 K:BB through 50 innings this season. |
|
Junior Caminero Junior Caminero Launches three homers in win
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 1:38 PM
Caminero went 3-for-5 with three home runs and six total RBI in Thursday's 13-2 victory over the Royals.
Analysis: Caminero opened the scoring with a two-run blast off Seth Lugo in the first inning and extended Tampa Bays' lead to 6-0 with a solo shot in the fifth. Caminero would then cap his huge day with a three-run shot off infielder Tyler Tolbert in the eighth. It's the first career three-homer game for Caminero, who's gone 12-for-31 (.387) with a 1.203 OPS in his last eight contests. The 22-year-old third baseman is now slashing .285/.377/.519 with 19 homers, 43 RBI and 49 runs scored across 342 plate appearances this season. |
|
Ian Seymour Ian Seymour Set to pitch behind opener
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 10:38 AM
Seymour is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind opener Casey Legumina in Thursday's game against the Royals, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
Analysis: Seymour made a five-inning start against the Nationals his last time out Saturday, but he'll be deployed out of the bullpen for his upcoming turn through the rotation. Since settling in as the Rays' de facto No. 5 starter June 8, Seymour has gone 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 12:4 K:BB in 12.1 innings over three appearances. |
|
Jonny DeLuca Jonny DeLuca Exiting starting nine
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 8:56 AM
DeLuca is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
Analysis: DeLuca has now started five of seven contests since returning from the injured list last week. The Rays are going with Cedric Mullins in center field and Victor Mesa in right field in Thursday's series finale. |
|
Michael Grove Michael Grove Recalled from Triple-A
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 8:39 AM
The Rays recalled Grove from Triple-A Durham on Thursday.
Analysis: Grove finished his rehab from shoulder surgery and was optioned to Durham recently following the conclusion of his rehab assignment. Now, he's back in the big leagues as a replacement for the injured Steven Matz (ankle). Assuming Grove appears in a game, it will be his first at the big-league level since 2024. |
|
Steven Matz Steven Matz Sent to IL with sprained ankle
Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 8:36 AM
The Rays placed Matz on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left ankle sprain.
Analysis: It's unclear when or how Matz was injured, but it will cost him at least the next two weeks of action. Matz has been roughed up for 10 runs (nine earned) over seven innings in five appearances since being demoted to the Rays' bullpen. |
|
Casey Legumina Casey Legumina Opening Thursday
Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 8:56 PM
Legumina will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher Thursday against the Royals, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
Analysis: Legumina has given up two earned runs across his last two outings, but the Rays will trust him to handle the beginning of Thursday's series finale nonetheless. The 29-year-old was able to record five outs before being pulled during his last opening assignment, and he'll presumably remain in the game Thursday for a similar amount of time before handing the game over to bulk reliever Ian Seymour. |
|
Bryan Baker Bryan Baker Up to 20 saves
Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 8:49 PM
Baker earned the save in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Royals, allowing a run on one hit while striking out two in the ninth inning.
Analysis: Baker gave up a solo home run to Josh Rojas with one out in the ninth that cut Tampa Bay's lead to two, but the right-hander rebounded to set down the next two Royals and pick up his 20th save this season. The homer marked the first run that Baker has given up in his last 13 innings. He's been excellent overall this season, posting a 2.01 ERA with 0.89 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB across 31.1 innings. |
|
Griffin Jax Griffin Jax Sharp in third win
Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 8:43 PM
Jax (3-5) earned the win Wednesday over the Royals, allowing two unearned runs on five hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out seven.
Analysis: It was a strong outing for Jax, as he set a new season high with seven strikeouts. The right-hander has been excellent of late, allowing just two earned runs across 20 innings in his last four starts, while posting a 21:4 K:BB. Since moving into Tampa's rotation, Jax has posted a 2.27 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB across 11 starts (43.2 innings). He's tentatively lined up for a rematch with the Royals on the road his next time out. |
|
Cedric Mullins Cedric Mullins Heading to bench vs. lefty
Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 1:51 PM
Mullins is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Analysis: The left-handed-hitting Mullins will hit the bench for the third time in four games while the Royals send southpaw Noah Cameron to the bump. Jonny DeLuca will fill in for Mullins in center field and bat second. |
Connect With Us:
