Rays Announce Final Five Relief Pitchers for Bullpen Spots

Who won the final five bullpen spots for the Tampa Bay Rays heading into Opening Day?

Aug 17, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Mason Englert (59) looks at the catcher for the sign against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays had a lot of competition for Opening Day roster spots throughout spring training.

The positional group that was up in the air the most throughout camp was the bullpen. The closer role was up for grabs, with Pete Fairbanks having his team option declined, and the team had five spots on the Opening Day roster up for grabs.

With one spring training game left before Opening Day against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Rays have figured out who will be part of the bullpen to begin the regular season. As shared by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times on X, five players have earned those spots.

Mason Englert, Yoendrys Gomez, Kevin Kelly, Ian Seymour and Cole Sulser have been named to the Opening Day roster. They are joining Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger, Edwin Uceta and Bryan Baker.

Rays announce Opening Day bullpen

Mar 10, 2026; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Kevin Kelly (49) walks off the field after pitching against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning during spring training at Charlotte Sports Park. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As a result of those decisions, Hunter Bigge has been optioned to Triple-A Durham. Jake Woodford, who was a non-roster invite to spring training, will be in Triple-A as well or elsewhere.

It was a decision that went down to the wire, selecting who should be part of the bullpen to begin the campaign. Players certainly didn’t make it easy with how they performed during the exhibition season.

Englert, in his second season with the Rays, was lights out during the spring. He made five appearances, throwing 8.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts. He is looking to build upon a strong 2025 campaign, when he had a 3.83 ERA across 44.2 innings.

Gomez was turning some heads with the velocity he was throwing out of the gate in spring training. His numbers weren’t as strong, issuing five walks and two home runs in 8.0 innings of work, but he has a lively arm to work with.

Kelly struggled with Tampa Bay in 2025, recording a 5.90 ERA in 39.2 innings. It was a disappointment, considering how well he had performed the previous two years across 137.2 innings with a 2.88 ERA and 2.4 bWAR.

And more #Rays news:

Final 5 bullpen spots go to:
Englert
Gomez
Kelly
Seymour
Sulser

Bigge optioned, Woodford to AAA or elsewhere

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 24, 2026

He could be on a short leash after producing a 5.14 ERA across 7.0 innings this spring.

Seymour has previously been ranked as one of the top prospects in the organization. His debut last year went well with a 3.63 ERA across 57 innings in a swingman role, making five starts out of his 19 outings.

He had a great spring with a 2.70 ERA in 13.1 innings. Seymour could be ticketed for a multi-inning role again, given some of the workload concerns with the starting rotation.

Last but not least is Sulser, who agreed to a unique contract ahead of arbitration that will pay him more as long as he is on the Major League roster. He was great in 2025 with a 1.99 ERA in 22.2 innings and was good again this spring with a 3.00 ERA in 9.0 innings with eight strikeouts and zero walks.