Player News
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Jax, Garrett Cleavinger and Edwin Uceta are expected to be part of a closer-by-committee for the Rays in 2026, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. There's been some talk of Jax potentially stretching out to join the Rays' rotation, but the current plan is to leave the 31-year-old in the bullpen. Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, Jax had an elevated 4.23 ERA in 2025, but a 2.51 FIP and 35 percent strikeout rate were more indicative of how he pitched. Mason Montgomery, Bryan Baker, Hunter Bigge, Steven Wilson and Manuel Rodriguez (elbow) could also work their way into high-leverage work, but the tentative plan seems to be for Jax, Cleavinger and Uceta to share the closer role.
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Jax will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports. With Ryan Pepiot unavailable for his scheduled start Wednesday due to fatigue, the Rays will turn to Jax to lead off what's expected to be a bullpen game. The 30-year-old right-hander has given up eight earned runs in just 12 innings since being acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline and isn't expected to pitch past the first inning during what will be his second opening assignment in seven days.
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The Rays acquired Jax from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for Taj Bradley, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Jax briefly appeared poised to step in as Minnesota's closer after Jhoan Duran was dealt on Wednesday, but the Twins instead fully committed to being deadline sellers. Jax had been operating has a setup man and is likely to fill the same role in Tampa Bay, though closer Pete Fairbanks' 5.79 ERA in his past nine outings could provide a path to saves.
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Jax allowed a run on a home run with a strikeout in an inning of work in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox to earn his ninth hold. After his early struggles (10 earned runs in his first eight innings) that saw him demoted to lower-leverage work, Jax had improved before Sunday with five scoreless innings and a 11:0 K:BB. Even with giving up the home run Sunday, it looks like he's back to working in the eighth inning ahead of closer Jhoan Duran.
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Jax allowed a run on a home run and a walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning Thursday against the Cardinals. Jax wasn't sharp in his first outing of the season as he was pulled after 21 pitches. Jax will reprise his late inning setup role again this season and should see some save chances when Jhoan Duran is used earlier in the game or unavailable.
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Stats
| Year | Team | APP | GS | INN | W | L | S | K | BBI | HA | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | MIN-TB | 73 | 2 | 66.0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 99 | 21 | 64 | 4.22 | 1.28 |
| 2024 | MIN | 72 | 0 | 71.0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 95 | 15 | 47 | 2.02 | 0.87 |
Last 7 Games
| DATE | Opp | W | L | S | INN | HA | ERA | BBI | K | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/27 | @  |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 9/24 | @  |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| 9/19 | vs  |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| 9/18 | vs |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 9/15 | vs |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| 9/13 | @  |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 9/12 | @ |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 3 | 1.00 |
Upcoming Games
| date | Opp | time | Scheduled Starter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/26 | @  |
4:15 PM | Not Announced Yet |
| 3/28 | @ |
2:15 PM | Not Announced Yet |
| 3/29 | @ |
2:15 PM | Not Announced Yet |
| 3/30 | @  |
7:40 PM | Not Announced Yet |
| 3/31 | @ |
7:40 PM | Not Announced Yet |
| 4/01 | @ |
1:40 PM | Not Announced Yet |
| 4/03 | @  |
12:00 AM | Not Announced Yet |