Rays miss opportunity to reunite with former reliever after he signs with Rangers

Left-handed relievers are a hot commodity in today's game, but after being a little over two years removed from being sent to waivers by the Rays, they decided not to return to some old memories. However, there were some fond ones sprinkled in with this former bullpen arm and again, he's left-handed...

Jalen Beeks was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 12th round of the 2014 draft. The University of Arkansas product was able to get his career rolling after a solid 2.89 ERA season with Triple-A Pawtucket. However, his debut season in the bigs didn't exactly go as planned. Beeks posted a 12.79 ERA in six frames and the AL East club immediately lost hope in him.

The Rays snatched their long-time reliever in a trade that involved starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. It was a rare loss in the trade department for the front office as Eovaldi would go on to play in two All Star games in 2021 and 2023. The Rangers may have bamboozled both teams as they now have Eovaldi and Beeks on their roster, but we'll talk more about that later.

Jalen Beeks' tenure in the Rays organization began pretty smoothly as he finished 2018 with a 5-0 record and a 4.47 ERA in 44 innings of work. Tampa Bay knew what they wanted from the lefty and he was able to provide quality outings for the club. In five seasons and a grand total of 271 innings, the 5'11 hurler went 16-10 with a 4.18 ERA. Those measures equal a 1.8 WAR as a member of the Rays which is still his best production for any of the five clubs he's pitched for.

Rangers sign Jalen Beeks to a one-year deal

The Rangers made the wise decision to add the former Rays reliever to their roster on a one-year pact. 2025 saw Beeks produce the second-best season of his career behind only his 2022 campaign with the Rays where he had a 2.80 ERA in 61 innings out of the bullpen. For the D-backs last season, he went 5-3 with a 3.77 ERA which was enough to tempt the Rangers into adding his services to their bullpen. The Texas reliever depth chart has a few other lefties as former Rays converted starter Tyler Alexander is also a member of their bullpen.