The Tampa Bay Rays have reached the 2026 MLB World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and as the underdog, they’ll need a handful of things to break their way if they’re going to finish the job.
Yes, getting to Milwaukee’s starters matters. So does playing clean baseball and cashing in when the Brewers give them an opening, whether that comes through an error or some other mistake. But ESPN’s Jesse Rogers pointed to one area that could end up defining - or wrecking - Tampa Bay’s chances: the bullpen.
"The only potential weakness on the Rays comes in the middle of their bullpen," Rogers writes. "Subtract closer Bryan Baker's seven scoreless innings and the rest of Tampa's bullpen has a 4.70 ERA this postseason."
That’s the part of the story the Rays can’t ignore. Baker has been excellent this October and has played a major role in getting Tampa Bay this far. Beyond him, though, the picture gets murkier in a hurry.
The Rays’ relief mix includes Tyler Wells, Garrett Cleavinger, Kevin Kelly, Cameron Booser, Cole Sulser, and Steven Matz, while Griffin Jax, Nick Martinez, Freddy Peralta, Drew Rasmussen, and Ian Seymour are also part of the pitching staff. The postseason numbers tell the story of a group that has been all over the map: Jax has a 6.00 ERA, Seymour sits at 3.68, Wells has a 10.80 mark, Kelly is at 3.86, Booser has a 0.00 ERA, Sulser is at 40.50, and Matz has a 0.00 ERA. Cleavinger has not pitched in the postseason yet, though he is on the World Series roster.
That leaves Tampa Bay with a bullpen that ranges from solid to shaky to flat-out alarming, depending on the arm. In a seven-game series, that kind of volatility can become a problem fast because the Rays are going to need several of these pitchers to handle important innings.
The issue is simple: outside of Baker, this group has not been consistent enough to inspire much comfort. Baker has a 0.00 ERA in seven outings, but the rest of the relief corps has struggled enough that Tampa Bay will want to avoid leaning on it too heavily.
That puts the pressure back on the starters. They either need to work deep into games, or a few relievers need to rise to the occasion this October. If the Rays come up short in this World Series, the middle innings may be where it all slipped away.
In Other News...
Freddy Peralta Just Gave Rays Fans A Reason To Dream
Freddy Peraltas arrival gave the Rays more than another arm for the stretch run, it gave the organization a potential long-term fit as well. Tampa Bay landed him from the Mets ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, and the fit has apparently been smooth enough that Peralta has already sounded at ease with his new surroundings as the Rays chase a title.
The timing only sharpens the intrigue, with Tampa Bay set to face the Brewers in the World Series and Peralta lined up to start Game 3. For Rays fans, that makes every outing feel bigger than a single October assignment, because the club also has reason to believe this could be more than a one-year stop for a pitcher they just added for the biggest stage. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Trade That Reshaped Two Careers Feels Even Wilder Now
A December 2018 three-team deal keeps looking more consequential with time, even though it was built around the kind of financial housekeeping that usually fades quickly from memory. The Rays, Guardians and Mariners put it together to clear obligations tied to veterans Edwin Encarnacin and Carlos Santana, but the swap also sent prospects into new situations that ended up mattering far beyond the original bookkeeping.
For Tampa Bay, the trade has taken on a different meaning because of how one of those young players developed after arriving. The deal was also finalized under unusual circumstances on the other side of it, with Mariners president Jerry Dipoto handling matters from a Las Vegas hospital while the transaction came together, which only adds to the strange backdrop of a move that now reads like much more than a routine roster shuffle. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers World Series Run May Hinge On One Massive October Question
The 2026 World Series is set to bring together two franchises still chasing their first championship, and that alone gives this matchup a different feel. Tampa Bay has spent years building around pitching depth, bullpen stability, and enough lineup flexibility to survive long series, while Milwaukee arrives with the same kind of October identity, a club that leans on run prevention and pressure from the mound to keep games in its control.
For the Rays, the biggest subplot may be the late-inning picture, because the margin in a Series like this can be razor thin when every matchup gets magnified. Milwaukees own October formula has only sharpened the focus on how each team handles the back end of the staff, and one lingering Brewers question is how much certainty they really have in the bullpen mix before the spotlight gets even brighter. [Read more 🡒]