Putting together the Rays All-Time 25th Anniversary squad

Relief Pitcher: No. 37, Alex Colome

Yet another All-Star reliever out of the bullpen, Alex Colome is another righty with closer experience. Colome spent two full seasons as the Rays closer in the mid-2010s and was nothing short of spectacular. In five and a half seasons with the Rays, Colome finished with a 3.21 ERA and the second-most saves in Rays history.

One of the most important aspects of a reliever's job is pitching out of trouble, which Colome did to an incredible extent. In 2016, Colome left over 93% of baserunners stranded while recording 37 saves. It was that season he saw his lowest career ERA (1.91), lowest BB rate and highest K rate. His 211 ERA+ was more than enough to elicit his only All-Star appearance so far. In 2017, he followed it with 47 saves.

Swingman: No. 20, Tyler Glasnow

The final spot of our pitching staff goes to the arm Archer was traded for. It's a bit of a curious pick, as Glasnow is currently one of the Rays ace starters in the rotation. It may also be cheating, since he's never appeared out of the bullpen for the Rays. Yet one of the strategies the Rays have developed is using pitchers as both starters and relievers. Glasnow was a reliever when the Rays acquired him from the Pirates. With rotational depth in mind, we chose the pitcher with the best stuff as opposed to the most relief success.

Armed with the best hair and stirrups on the club, Glasnow provides a devastating slider that wiped out at 40 inches of drop in his last full season. He also attacks hitters with a sweeping curveball and a fastball that sits at 100. In 37 starts from the beginning of 2019 to the end of 2021, Glasnow pitched to a 2.80 ERA in 37 starts. Overall in his tenure as a Ray, he's seen his K rate flourish and his BB rate dwindle from his time in Pittsburgh.

The bench is the last unit of the team to put together. Each team needs a fourth outfielder, but we've provided a fourth and fifth outfielder for the sake of depth and importance to club history. In addition, there is a backup catcher and two backup infielders. To start, our backup backstop: