1 current and 1 former Rays pitcher included in MLB.com’s top 10 relievers

MLB.com's top 10 relievers were revealed and this year's list included eight new members. Two of those relief pitchers have sported the Tampa Bay Rays uniform at some point in their lives. Rangers closer Kirby Yates actually began his successful career with the Rays in 2014. He had a short stint in Tampa, but the Hawaii native has certainly made the most of his 10 years in the big leagues thus far. He put together one of his best seasons last year at the ripe age of 37 as the righty was named to his second All-Star game. The other Rays edition is current Rays set-up man Edwin Uceta that took the league by storm with his electrifying 1.51 ERA season.

Well ladies and gentlemen, we have another Rays pitcher success story! They really never get old for Rays fans and they remain unpredictable. Who could've guessed that Jason Adam would become the dominant reliever that he is today? The crafty right-hander was dealt to San Diego at the trade deadline last season and we expect him to continue baffling opposing hitters. Edwin Uceta is just another example of the Rays amazing ability to develop talented pitching.

The Dominican-born hurler has appeared on four different MLB rosters since 2021, as he has never been able to find a home due to inconsistent pitching. In his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Uceta put up some decent strikeout numbers as he finished with 25 punchouts in about 20 innings of work, but his ERA rose to 6.64 which forced LA to DFA him at the end of the season.

Results started to get even worse for the 27-year old and his future in the major leagues began to look more and more bleak. How is he now the sixth ranked reliever in the sport? The Rays signed Uceta to a minor league deal after the 2023 season and he started to show progress with the Durham Bulls, producing a 12.3 SO/9 in 34.1 innings. The Rays called him up to the big leagues in June and he exploded onto the scene. Uceta threw just over 40 innings in the majors and finished with the third best ERA in the American League behind Kirby Yates and Cy Young finalist Emmanuel Clase.

Ranked as the No. 8 reliever right now, veteran pitcher Kirby Yates had a rebound campaign in Texas. He finished the season with the third most saves (33) in the American League. Yates only threw 56 innings for the Rays to start off his career, but he has definitely shined at certain points. In 2019 and 2024, the former 26th round pick was added to an All-Star game roster. In fact, his best year came in 2019 with the Padres as he accrued an MLB-leading 41 saves and a ridiculous 1.19 ERA.

It can sometimes to be rare to find Rays players in these rankings due to them being heavily overlooked, but this was a pleasant surprise as we got to celebrate the young and feisty, along with the experienced and wise.