Rays Emerging High-Leverage Bullpen Arm Projected for Bump in Salary via Arbitration

Arbitration is projected to be nice for a Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher who emerged this season as a late-inning option.

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The Tampa Bay Rays have something positive brewing when it comes to their bullpen. This is a solid group that stood out during a 2025 regular season that saw the team win only 77 games.

There will be a lot of focus on the relief staff during the offseason. A new closer could be sought depending on what happens with Pete Fairbanks. It is widely expected that the Rays will exercise their option on him and then shop him on the trade market.

Plenty of teams are going to be looking for help at the back end of the bullpen, and Fairbanks will be one of the best available when taking into account production and salary.

Should Tampa Bay move on from him, one player who could assume his role as the closer is Edwin Uceta. Signed originally as an amateur free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, he has bounced around a lot as a professional, but looks to have found a home with the Rays.

How much is Edwin Uceta projected to make in arbitration?

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Arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career, with 2.150 service time, he is projected for a nice raise this winter. MLB Trade Rumors shared his salary projection to be $1.4 million, nearly doubling the $740,000 he made in 2025.

That kind of raise is certainly warranted with how well he performed. Things didn’t get off to a strong start with a 5.77 ERA and strikeout rate of 28.1% through his first 40 appearances.

But over his final 30 outings, he looked like one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. Uceta had a 1.70 ERA and a strikeout rate of 36.7%, blowing away hitters with regularity.

He finished the season with a 10-3 record, 3.70 ERA, 103 strikeouts, 21 holds and one save. That made him only the third relief pitcher in MLB history to record double-digit wins, 100+ strikeouts and 20+ holds in a single campaign.

Edwin Uceta has found home with Rays

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In 2024, he was just as dominant with a 1.9 bWAR across 30 appearances and 41.2 innings pitched. 57 strikeouts were recorded with a minuscule 1.51 ERA.

Uceta certainly possesses the skill set to excel late in games in high-leverage situations. Should Fairbanks be traded, he will be one of the players under consideration to take over as the team’s closer, along with Griffin Jax.

The bullpen once again projects to be a strength for Tampa Bay in 2026 and beyond with the amount of young, controllable arms that have been stockpiled.