Griffin Jax

Fantasy News

• Rays' Griffin Jax: Closer committee awaits

  Rotowire Mar 14, 2026

  Jax has given up one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk across 4.2 combined innings between the Grapefruit League and World Baseball Classic this spring. The right-hander is expected to open the season in a closer committee alongside Garrett Cleavinger, with Edwin Uceta (shoulder) poised to join the mix once healthy. Jax had an underwhelming 4.23 ERA and 1.29 WHIP last season, but his 99:21 K:BB and 2.57 FIP better illustrate his high-leverage upside. He has three straight seasons of 18-plus holds but didn't record any saves last year, which isn't likely to be the case for long in 2026.

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• Rays' Griffin Jax: Settles with Tampa Bay

  Rotowire Jan 8, 2026

  Jax agreed to a one-year, $3.565 million contract with the Rays on Thursday, avoiding arbitration, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Jax receives a decent raise in his second year of arbitration eligibility after posting a 4.23 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 99:21 K:BB over 66 innings between the Rays and Twins last season. The right-hander is expected to begin 2026 as part of Tampa Bay's closer committee, along with Garrett Cleavinger and Edwin Uceta.

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• Rays' Griffin Jax: Part of Rays' closer-by-committee

  Rotowire Dec 2, 2025

  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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• Rays' Griffin Jax: Opening Wednesday

  Rotowire Sep 9, 2025

  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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• Rays' Griffin Jax: Traded to Rays

  Rotowire Jul 31, 2025

  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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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Earns ninth hold

  Rotowire May 4, 2025

  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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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Not sharp in regular season debut

  Rotowire Mar 28, 2025

  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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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Move to rotation not ruled out

  Rotowire Nov 13, 2024

  Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler indicated in a recent interview that the team is open to the possibility of moving Jax into the rotation, Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio reports. Jax came up through the minors as a starting pitcher and made 14 starts for the Twins in 2021, posting a 6.10 ERA. He's since turned into a lockdown reliever, most recently collecting a 2.03 ERA and 95:15 K:BB over 71 innings this season. With a five-pitch mix and past starting experience, Jax would seem more equipped for a shift to the rotation than most relievers. The question is whether the uptick in stuff since his move to relief would translate back to a starting role.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Gets sixth save Sunday

  Rotowire Jun 16, 2024

  Jax allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in an 8-7 win over the Athletics in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader. Jax hadn't logged a save since May 10, but he received the opportunity to do so Sunday after Jhoan Duran closed out the matinee game. While the two relievers initially shared closing duties early in May, Duran has been the Twins' main closer for about a month while Jax has settled into a setup role. Jax has been excellent all year with a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 43:8 K:BB with six saves, 12 holds and two blown saves over 31.1 innings.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Escapes with fifth save

  Rotowire May 11, 2024

  Jax gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth inning Friday while striking out one, recording his fifth save of the season in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. Jhoan Duran got the call in the eighth inning to face the top of Toronto's order, leaving the ninth for Jax, but Jax ran into trouble with two outs after a Bo Bichette single kicked off a Jays rally. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has been using Duran as a relief ace rather than a pure closer and Duran has three saves and three holds in six appearances since coming off the IL in late April, but Jax hasn't been the sole beneficiary of the available opportunities -- Caleb Thielbar and Cole Sands have also picked up saves since Duran's season debut. Brock Stewart (shoulder) could also end up in that mix once he gets healthy. Jax has a 3.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB through 17.2 innings on the season, and while Duran should see the majority of the save chances for the Twins, his main understudy could creep into the low double digits in saves by the time the season is done.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Duran returns from IL

  Rotowire Apr 30, 2024

  Jax will likely shift into a setup role since the Twins reinstated Jhoan Duran (oblique) from the 15-day injured list Tuesday. Jax pitched well as the fill-in closer to begin the season with four saves, a 2.25 ERA and 17:4 K:BB across 12 innings, but it appears his time in the role is now up. The right-hander should still see plenty of high-leverage opportunities as a setup man, but his fantasy utility will likely be minimal while Duran is healthy.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Notches another save

  Rotowire Apr 24, 2024

  Jax pitched a perfect ninth inning and struck out one to pick up his third save of the season Wednesday against the White Sox. Jax seems to have taken hold of the closing job in place of Jhoan Duran, who's in the midst of a rehab assignment after suffering an oblique injury late in camp. Jax has twirled back-to-back perfect innings for a pair of saves and owns a 2.70 ERA with a 14:3 K:BB over 11 appearances (10 innings), but his run in the ninth inning will likely come to an end soon with Duran nearing activation.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Picks up save No. 2

  Rotowire Apr 20, 2024

  Jax pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts against the Tigers on Saturday en route to his second save of the season. Called upon to protect a one-run lead, Jax was nails Saturday, retiring the side in order on 12 pitches. He reached as high as 96.9 mph on his fastball and earned his first save since Opening Day. While Jax appears to be first in line for save chances right now, he doesn't seem to have much of a window with Jhoan Duran (oblique) closing in on a rehab assignment. Duran threw 21 pitches in live batting practice Friday.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Used in eighth inning

  Rotowire Apr 4, 2024

  Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning in Wednesday's win at Milwaukee while Steven Okert pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Okert would have be in line for a save had the Twins not scored in the top of the ninth inning. "At that point in the game, Okert with the experience was probably the answer," manager Rocco Baldelli told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Jax, who has Minnesota's only save with Jhoan Duran on the injured list, was used in the eighth inning against the heart of the Brewers' lineup. Jax is still likely to be the first option and get the most save chances with Duran out, but Wednesday's game shows that Baldelli may play matchups with his bullpen regardless of the save statistic.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Records first save

  Rotowire Mar 28, 2024

  Jax threw a scoreless inning with a walk and strikeout to record the save in Thursday's Opening Day win at Kansas City. With Jhoan Duran (oblique) on the injured list and expected to miss several weeks, it was Jax who got the call in the ninth inning to protect a three-run lead. Brock Stewart was used in the eighth inning, so it looks like Jax will be the primary closer with Duran out. However, the Twins could mix and match the two in save situations.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Continues recent turnaround

  Rotowire Jun 1, 2023

  Jax (3-6) earned the win in Thursday's 7-6 win over the Guardians. He didn't allow a hit or walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning. Jax struggled with an 8.18 ERA and three blown saves between April 21 to May 19. He's since thrown five scoreless innings in his last five appearances with an 8:0 K:BB ratio, so it looks like he's back to being a reliable setup man.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Records 10th hold

  Rotowire Jul 31, 2022

  Jax threw a scoreless inning while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Padres to earn his 10th hold. Jax has become a key setup man after transitioning from being a starting pitcher last season. He's improved both his average fastball velocity (95.3 mph from 92.7 mph last season) and strikeout rate (9.6 K/9 from 7.1 K/9 last season). Despite Minnesota's struggles to find a steady closer at times, Jax hasn't been used at the end of games, however.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Earns second win

  Rotowire May 7, 2022

  Jax (2-0) picked up the win Saturday against the Athletics, striking out two while allowing one hit across 1.2 scoreless innings. Jax entered a scoreless tie with one out in the sixth inning and completed the frame without allowing a baserunner. The Twins went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the inning, and Jax remained on the mound for the seventh, allowing just a two-out double. He now owns a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings of relief this season, a far cry from the 6.37 ERA he posted as primarily a starter last year.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Picks up first career save

  Rotowire Apr 28, 2022

  Jax earned the save, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out two while allowing two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in a 7-1 win over Detroit. Jax got the unconventional save by tossing three innings in a lopsided affair. After making 14 starts last year, the righty has pitched exclusively in relief for the Twins early in 2022. Thursday's three-inning save was his longest appearance of the season and first save at any level in professional baseball. He's allowed two runs and has 11:3 K:BB in nine innings of work on the campaign.

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• Twins' Griffin Jax: Returns to big club

  Rotowire Apr 12, 2022

  The Twins recalled Jax from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday. Jax had been preparing for a starting role for St. Paul after he was optioned to the affiliate Thursday, but his turn in the rotation never came up before he was called back up to Minnesota. He's expected to serve as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen while he's up with the Twins.

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