Tampa Bay Rays May Have Added To Rotation By Dipping Into Bullpen

BusinessSportsMoneyTampa Bay Rays May Have Added To Rotation By Dipping Into BullpenByTom Layberger,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about college football and sports in the Tampa Bay region.Follow AuthorApr 27, 2026, 03:10pm EDTApr 27, 2026, 03:22pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - Griffin Jax of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during a game at Tropicana Field on April 26, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)Getty ImagesLeave it to the Rays Way. Versatility has long been preferred among position players and pitchers. The organization acquires players who may be asked, often sooner than later, to embrace a new role. For righthanded pitcher Griffin Jax, his immediate future could have him returning to a role he was once very familiar with. Jax started the Rays’ 4-2 win Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field against the Twins, the team that drafted him a decade ago out of the Air Force Academy. He went through Minnesota’s system as a starting pitcher. That changed, at least temporarily, when he was summoned to the parent club and made his MLB debut in June 2021. Then-manager Rocco Baldelli used Jax in a long relief role at first, though injuries prompted the skipper to put him in the rotation, and make 14 starts through the end of the season. The results were not good as Jax went 3-5 with a 6.10 ERA and allowed 18 homers in 69 1/3 innings. He went to the bullpen in 2022 and became an effective setup man. In his role Sunday as the Rays’ opener, something he did twice in 2025 after being acquired for Taj Bradley at the trade deadline, Jax cruised through 2 1/3 innings allowing only two baserunners, one of which was erased by a double-play grounder. His 33 pitches were the most in an outing since he threw as many in a pair of 2023 relief assi...