MLB Notebook; role of relievers and importance of Bregman

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Collective wisdom holds for a major league team to remain competitive, a designated closer needs to record between 42 and 46 saves in a single season.

Great relievers, such Elroy Face, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Tug McGraw and others continuously kept their teams in contention with late inning dramatics. In the modern world of the game, such relievers, now identified as closers, tend to have specific roles.

Some may be called upon to finish a game, some to induce outs in a given inning other than eighth or ninth and still others called execute in high leverage situations.

When the Tampa Bay Rays lost Pete Faribanks, their closer for the past seven seasons to free agency this past off-season, his departure created a dilemma. Does manager Kevin Cash anoint a certain reliever as “a closer?” Better still, is the important closer responsibility generated by “committee?”

Over the first 10 days of the season, the latter seems to Cash’s option of choice.

With a 6-4 win over the Chicago Cubs before 25,114 on April 6 in their home opener, the Rays made a triumphant return to Tropicana Field. After hurricane Milton tore the roof off, the Rays were forced from the venue for the past year and one-half. Now, the team has returned with energy, purpose and resolve.

The win also demonstrated what could be a glaring weakness. As the season progresses, the true lack of a closer may have a residual effect.

When Bryan Baker picked up the save against the Cubs on April 6, that represented the second different reliever to gain a save in first five wins of the season.

“We’re a pretty much a versatile group, so I think that we are to mix and match, with different roles in the bullpen, and who’s fresh that night,” Baker said before the home opener on April 6. “It’s been tough to kind of tell, here at the start. Most of us have a general idea what to expect and to be ready for whatever.”

While Kevin Kelly picked up saves in games four and nine in 2026, his reliever “role” was quickly relinquished. After Tampa Bay starter Shane McClanahan struggled with control during his second start of the season April 6, Cash went immediately to Kelly.

Thrusted into the game in the fifth, Kelly responded with a 1-2-3 inning and picked up the win. The victory was his first since last September 9 and a 5-4 in Chicago against the White Sox. Kelly only 2025 victory transpired at home on Sept. 2 against Seattle.

“Look, I’m just part of the bullpen,” Kelly said before the Rays home opener. “It just worked out that I got the two saves. We have many guys who handle different situations and if that changes, we’ll know. That’s to our benefit that we have guys in different situations.”

To chase glory … For a team looking to compete at the highest level, a missing part may have been found. In signing third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million, the offense, defense, and culture within the Chicago Cubs confines on the North Side instantly improved. Though off to slow start, Bregman was hitting .150 (6-for-40) through the Cubs first 10 games.

Still, his proven track record with Houston and Boston should provide a strong residual effect.

“He is really great,” said Chicago catcher Carson Kelly, now hitting clean-up in the Cubs batting order. “The attention to detail he brings, the energy he brings every single day is something which attracts you. He has won a lot of baseball games and World Series. He’s a winning player. Once you bring a guy like that into a clubhouse, that’s something we all to look forward.”

On the diamond … though Tampa Bay start starter Shane McClanahan struggled in his second start of the season, the Rays rallied and triggered a 6-4, come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Cubs in their home opener. A sellout crowd of 25,114 (the Rays do not sell tickets in the upper deck of Tropicana Field) was boosted by the return of baseball to the domed stadium and treated to an outburst of power. A pair of two run-homers from Cedric Mullins (in the second) and Jonathan Aranda (in the eight) was sandwiched between a solo shot off the bat of Junior Caminero in the third…. The win enabled the Rays to reach the .500 mark and manufacture a modest two-game winning streak.

More with the Cubs … the series continues with Tampa Bay righthander Drew Rasmassen (0-0. 1.80 ERA) facing righty Javier Assad, recalled April 6 from AAA Iowa. He replaces lefty Matthew Boyd, who was placed in the IR, retroactive to April 3, with a left bicep strain. … The series concludes Wednesday night. That’s when righthander Joe Boyle goes for the Rays and the Cubs are undecided … The Yankees then visit Tropicana Field for the weekend of April 10-12 for three and help the Rays conclude their initial home stand the season.

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