AL East: A closer committee in Tampa Bay?

Tampa Bay Rays

The departure of Pete Fairbanks from Tampa Bay left the team’s closer role in question, and early returns indicate that the team will use a closer-by-committee rather than a set closer. When discussing a change to this arrangement, manager Kevin Cash was in support of the idea, stating, “I think keeping it more fluid there are times that that gives us a good chance to win games … We’ve done it (previously) and we’ve had a very successful bullpen that really embraced the role of not having that closer.”

Edwin Uceta, whose dominant second half earned him an “UP: 30 Sv + Holds” in the 2026 Baseball Forecaster, is set to figure prominently in the team’s late-inning plans. While Uceta’s surface stats took a...

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