Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays wading into uncharted pitching territory with 13 closers

Published Sep. 9, 2021 12:44 p.m. ET

By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Folks, the Tampa Bay Rays are at it again.

From the people who brought you "The Opener"...

Tropicana Field Productions presents: "13 Closers: The Next Generation."

Last Saturday, when Dietrich Enns (who?) closed out Tampa Bay’s 11-4 victory over Minnesota with three scoreless innings, he became the 13th Rays pitcher to record a save in 2021 — a new single-season MLB record.

Whose record did they break? The Rays', of course! Last year’s Rays!

Last year, in just 60 games, the Rays — who were the best team in the American League — tied an MLB record (held by the 1973 Rangers, 1961 A’s and 1959 A’s) by having 12 pitchers record at least one save during the season.

Those 12 pitchers:

Incredibly, only three of last year’s closers — Castillo, Kittredge and Sherriff — have contributed to this year’s record-breaking total. That's right: The Rays have a whole new cast of bullpen arms in 2021. And what do you know? They’re the best team in the American League once again.

Let’s meet the 13 closers!

Closer No. 1: Diego Castillo

First 2021 save: April 1 at Marlins, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

How acquired: Signed out of the Dominican Republic on March 5, 2014

Castillo was one of the faces of the Rays' bullpen during their run to the pennant a year ago, and he was the closer to start 2021 before he was traded to Seattle in July.

Closer No. 2: Jeffrey Springs

First 2021 save: April 18 at Yankees, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

How acquired: Trade from Red Sox on Feb. 17, 2021

A former 30th-round (!) pick by the Rangers in 2015, Springs was having a stellar season before undergoing surgery on his ACL in August. He’s unfortunately out for the year.

Closer No. 3: Trevor Richards

First 2021 save: April 20 at Royals, 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

How acquired: Trade from Marlins on July 31, 2019

I’ll always be a huge Richards fan, considering his background as a former substitute teacher. He has since been traded twice this season and is now in Toronto’s bullpen.

Closer No. 4: Andrew Kittredge

First 2021 save: April 24 vs. Blue Jays, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

How acquired: Trade from Mariners on Nov. 18, 2016

With Kittredge perhaps the most anonymous All-Star in Denver this year, his ascent has been remarkable to watch. He’s the real deal.

Closer No. 5: Pete Fairbanks

First 2021 save: May 19 at Orioles, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

How acquired: Trade from Rangers on July 13, 2019

Fairbanks hasn’t been quite as dynamite as he was in 2020, but he’s still a huge part of this staff, and fans can expect to see a whole lot more of him in October.

Closer No. 6: JP Feyereisen

First 2021 save: May 23 at Blue Jays, 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

How acquired: Trade from Brewers on May 21, 2021

It might still sting for Rays fans to watch Willy Adames thrive in Milwaukee, but Feyereisen — one of the arms the Rays got back from the Brewers — has certainly shown why Tampa Bay was targeting him. He’ll definitely get some high-leverage innings in October.

Closer No. 7: Matt Wisler

First 2021 save: Aug. 1 vs. Red Sox, 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

How acquired: Trade from Giants on June 11, 2021

Wisler signed a big-league deal with the Giants last winter but never got comfortable in San Francisco, posting a 6.05 ERA in 21 appearances before being DFA’d and shipped to the Rays in June. I don’t know what the Rays fixed with him, but he has been marvelous, with a 1.98 ERA in 27.1 IP. The wildest thing about Wisler? He throws 90% sliders!!!

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Closer No. 8: Ryan Sherriff

First 2021 save: Aug. 4 vs. Mariners, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Nov. 26, 2018

The 31-year-old southpaw had a 0.00 ERA in 9.2 regular-season innings and two World Series innings last year, but he has struggled in 2021, with an ERA over 6.

Closer No. 9: Evan Phillips

First 2021 save: Aug. 13 at Twins, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Aug. 4, 2021

It has been quite the month for Phillips, who was released by the last-place Orioles on Aug. 2, only to be picked up by the defending AL champion Rays on Aug. 4 and then claimed by the defending NL champion Dodgers on waivers just a few days after recording a save for Tampa. It was his only appearance for the Rays. He’s in the Dodgers' bullpen now.

Closer No. 10: Collin McHugh

First 2021 save: Aug. 21 vs. White Sox, 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Feb. 22, 2021

McHugh might have only one save to his name, but he has been one of the better multi-inning bullpen arms in baseball this season, with a 1.74 ERA in 55.1 innings of work. He has thrown more than one inning in 22 of his 31 appearances.

Closer No. 11: Josh Fleming

First 2021 save: Aug. 22 vs. White Sox, 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

How acquired: Fifth-round pick in the 2017 Draft

The former Division III National Pitcher of the Year at Webster University, Fleming has carved out a nice role for himself on the Rays staff as an innings-eating sinker-baller.

Closer No. 12: Chris Mazza

First 2021 save: Aug. 27 at Orioles, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

How acquired: Trade from Red Sox on Feb. 17, 2021

Mazza was a 27th-round pick out of Menlo Junior College by Minnesota back in 2011, and he bounced around organizations before arriving in the same trade as Springs before this season. Now he’s part of history!

Closer No. 13: Dietrich Enns

First 2021 save: Sept. 4 vs. Twins, 3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Aug. 18, 2020

What a journey it has been for Enns, who appeared briefly in the big leagues — with the Twins, fittingly — in 2017 but was in independent ball before he signed with the Rays last summer. Now he’s a 30-year-old rookie! Please respect my restraint in not making a "means to an Enns" joke.

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There’s less than a month to go in the regular season, but there’s a strong chance that 13 won't be the final tally on Rays closers this year.

If forced to name one guy to close out a one-run game in the ninth, it appears that All-Star Andrew Kittredge is the Rays' man. But there is clearly plenty of flexibility. A stunning number of pitchers in this organization could easily notch at least one save in the final stretch. That includes two of Tampa Bay's most reliable arms from last October, Nick Anderson and Ryan Thompson, who are both working their way back from injury (Anderson will be back soon; Thompson is a bit further away).

Then there’s a bevy of relievers on the active roster who could easily be handed the ball in the ninth on a day Kittredge or Fairbanks isn’t available or for the ol’ three-inning save in a blowout, a la Fleming or Mazza. That group includes Drew Rasmussen, JT Chargois, Adam Conley, Shawn Armstrong, Louis Head and David Robertson.

And don’t forget about Triple-A Durham, where top prospect Shane Baz has been dynamite in nine starts for the Bulls and could certainly be called upon as a late-inning weapon in the big leagues at some point soon. Phoenix Sanders, Joey Krehbiel and Brent Honeywell Jr. have also all recorded saves in Triple-A this year. Maybe one of them will be Closer No. 14! Or 15! Or 20!

But as wacky of a record as this is, it’d be foolish to act like it’s any sort of accident. It’s no secret that the Rays are known for their ability to produce consistent winners despite operating with a bottom-five payroll nearly every season. That manifests most obviously in their general avoidance of high-priced free agents and most notably in their frequent trading of star players before they become more expensive through arbitration or the latter parts of extensions.

A high-profile example is the Blake Snell trade from last winter, but smaller deals such as sending Castillo to Seattle earlier this summer are similar maneuvers on a smaller scale. The Rays swapped Castillo, who is entering his first year of arbitration this winter, for Chargois (still pre-arb) and promising 3B prospect Austin Shenton.

Under the current system, saves are often what get relievers paid in arbitration. With the Rays spreading the saves around, it becomes far more difficult for any reliever to command a higher salary in arbitration since they aren’t racking up saves — that is, if they even make it to arbitration with the Rays before being moved.

Anything teams do to actively avoid paying players what they’re worth feels icky at best and problematic for the health of the sport at worst. The Rays aren’t the only team that has made moves with such motivations in recent years, but it’s immensely frustrating to watch, especially when it doesn’t always work as well as it has for Tampa Bay.

So while I don’t want to celebrate this form of frugality for the sake of ruthless efficiency, I think we can still credit the Rays for what they’ve been able to achieve with a pitching staff that functions completely unlike that of any other team.

They’ve been able to create a culture in which a preposterous variety of arms can be relied upon in nearly any situation. That takes a serious amount of trust and comfort among the players and coaching staff, and it takes a remarkable ability from the front office and pro scouting department to identify pitchers capable of executing this strategy to the degree that they do. The transaction log sure is messy, but my goodness, here they are running away with the AL East once again.

This season’s closer carousel is just the latest example of the Rays’ gradual foray into uncharted pitcher-usage territory. What will they come up with next?

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He lives in Maryland but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.

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