Cole Sulser’s postseason debut with the Rays did not go the way Tampa Bay needed, and it put a fresh spotlight on the former Mets right-hander after another rough October outing.
The Rays dropped Game 1 to the Guardians on Monday, and a strong start from Drew Rasmussen wound up wasted when the bullpen couldn’t finish the job. Tampa Bay was still trying to hold onto a 4-3 lead when Sulser entered the picture, and the game got away from him fast. In 0.2 innings, he was charged with three earned runs.
That’s a tough turn for a pitcher the Mets barely got to know. Sulser appeared in just four games for New York in 2024, throwing 4.2 innings.
He struck out seven, but the five earned runs he allowed were enough for the Mets to move him on to Tampa Bay. He was essentially a roster filler during that short stay, then found himself in the Rays’ system looking for a reset.
Sulser has spent his career as a true journeyman, working through uneven inning totals since his MLB debut in 2019. He had a notable stretch with the Orioles in 2021, when he topped 60 innings and posted a 2.70 ERA. The Rays then managed to squeeze more value out of him, at least for a while, and that made Monday’s stumble stand out even more.
His numbers in Tampa Bay paint the picture of a useful reliever with some built-in risk. He logged a 4.31 ERA in 56.1 innings for the Rays, then came back in 2024 and threw 11.2 scoreless innings.
In 2025, he worked 22.2 innings and finished with a 1.99 ERA. His 3.63 FIP suggests there was some bad luck mixed in there, and his strike-throwing played a big part in his value.
He walked just 2.7 batters per nine innings while striking out 8.9 per nine, which is a pretty solid profile for a bullpen arm.
But the season also had some ugly stretches. Back-to-back months with ERAs in the 7.00’s did the most damage.
Over 18 combined innings in May and June, Sulser gave up 15 earned runs. He did bounce back late, though, and that finish helped him earn a postseason role.
He posted a 0.77 WHIP in August with a 3.09 ERA, then followed with an even stronger 1.80 ERA in September.
Still, his first postseason appearance went sideways in a hurry. A single and a balk opened the inning.
He then got a strikeout and a lineout before José Ramírez singled in a run. A wild pitch followed, and Sulser eventually walked the final batter he faced.
Once he was lifted after that free pass, his replacement allowed a two-run double to Jo Adell, and both of those runs were charged to Sulser.
It’s the kind of night that shows why the Rays keep earning that reputation for turning overlooked pitchers into something useful. Sulser had already been one of those examples once the Mets moved on from him, and even after Monday, the story remains the same: he can miss bats, he can throw strikes, and he also lives dangerously when hitters square him up.
Baseball Savant backs that up too - he was in the 91st percentile in Chase % but only the 2nd percentile in Barrel %. That’s a pitcher who can get hitters chasing outside the zone, but when contact comes, it can get loud in a hurry.
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