This story was excerpted from Adam Berry's Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Edwin Uceta was back home in the Dominican Republic in January, preparing to go hunting in his home province of Santiago Rodr¨ªguez, when his phone lit up with a message from his agent.
¡°Did you see where we¡¯re at?¡±
MLB Network was running through its annual rankings of the ¡°Top 10 Players Right Now¡± at each position, and it was time to roll out the list of the game¡¯s best relief pitchers heading into the 2025 season, based on past performance, traditional numbers, advanced metrics and further analysis.
And there was Uceta at No. 6, right between A¡¯s sensation Mason Miller and Tanner Scott, who signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason. The Rays¡¯ right-hander was honored, but his mentality might be better reflected by the text he sent back to his agent.
¡°Yeah, but we've still got to continue to work.¡±
It¡¯s almost hard to believe how far Uceta has come in a year. He entered last Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, in camp on a Minor League deal after bouncing among five organizations with just one Major League outing to show for it in 2023. He had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. At the end of the season, he was out of a job.
The Rays felt good about the work Uceta did in camp, but he began the 2024 season with Triple-A Durham and had a 7.00 ERA when Tampa Bay called him up for the first time in early May. Then came two scoreless appearances with five strikeouts ¡ and a trip back to Durham.
After returning to the Rays¡¯ bullpen on June 25, Uceta never went back down. He turned out to be one of the most dominant high-leverage relievers in baseball, posting a 1.51 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 57 strikeouts and only eight walks in 41 2/3 innings over 30 appearances. He earned his first career save on Aug. 20, a day after closer Pete Fairbanks went on the injured list with a season-ending right lat strain, then picked up four more saves in September.
¡°I thought we were all excited about him in Spring Training, leaving confident that there's a good shot he's going to impact our pitching staff at some point during the year,¡± manager Kevin Cash said Monday. ¡°I don't think anybody could have forecast the way that he came up and the success that he had.¡±
Among pitchers who threw at least 40 innings, only Cleveland¡¯s Emmanuel Clase (0.61) and Texas¡¯ Kirby Yates (1.17) had a lower ERA. Using that same innings threshold, Uceta¡¯s was the fourth-lowest mark by a pitcher in franchise history, trailing only Fernando Rodney in 2012 (0.60), Joaquin Benoit in ¡¯10 (1.34) and Shawn Armstrong in ¡¯23 (1.38).
Aside from the January reminder from MLB Network, Uceta said he didn¡¯t spend too much time thinking about what he accomplished last season. But the next question, of course, is whether he can do it again.
¡°I just came in here trying to do my job this year and be healthy and just continue to do the same thing I did last year,¡± Uceta said through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez.
The numbers Uceta put up last season were hardly a fluke, statistically, as his expected numbers were in line with his results. He threw two elite pitches -- a fastball (36.9% whiff rate) and a changeup (37.4% whiff rate) -- plus a cutter and sweeper that he¡¯s working on more this spring.
And, as is often the case with Rays pitchers, Uceta took a massive step forward because of his strike-throwing. He threw 49% of his pitches for strikes and had a 67.9% first-pitch strike rate.
¡°I give him a lot of credit. It wasn't smoke and mirrors. He developed himself,¡± Cash said. ¡°He developed a better changeup, a better version of his fastball and breaking ball, and he showed more consistency with the strike-throwing. It felt like he made improvements in Durham, but then he took another step and continued to make improvements at the big league level.¡±
Cash also praised Uceta for his demeanor on the mound. For someone with only 25 big league appearances, Uceta rarely appeared fazed by the high-leverage assignments he received following injuries and trades involving more experienced relievers.
Tampa Bay will have a lot of options and a lot of talent in its bullpen this season. In a short time, Uceta has made a case for himself as not just one of their best, but one of MLB¡¯s best.
¡°I feel more comfortable now, more prepared. It was a good thing that happened to me,¡± Uceta said. ¡°I have the blessing of the manager, and that gives me more confidence.¡±