One of the strengths of the Tampa Bay Rays throughout the 2025 MLB regular season was their bullpen. Despite an underwhelming season overall, going 77-85, the team could constantly count on their relief staff getting the job done when its number was called.
Closer Pete Fairbanks was nominated for the All-MLB team, anchoring the bullpen at the back end with excellent production. After a tough start to the campaign, Edwin Uceta put together a dominant season, reaching statistical plateaus rarely achieved in a single year by a reliever.
Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Rays made a move to bolster their bullpen even more. They took advantage of the fire sale the Minnesota Twins were having, acquiring elite reliever Griffin Jax.
If he can return to the form he showed with the Twins, Tampa Bay has a legitimate weapon to deploy late in games in high-leverage situations. Another veteran pitcher who will vie for a late-inning spot in the bullpen is Cole Sulser.
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His performance in 2025 was unexpected, and he performed well. It has put him in a position to earn a raise this winter via arbitration.
As shared by MLB Trade Rumors, Sulser is projected to earn $1.2 million on his next contract. It would be a nice raise for the 35-year-old from the $900,000 he earned this past season with 4.096 years of service time. That is probably more money than anyone would have predicted he would make when his career began.
A 25th-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Dartmouth College, he has overcome incredibly long odds to become a prominent part of a Big League bullpen. The path to doing so was twisty-turvy, but he has handled things well.
Sulser has found a lot of success with the Rays in two separate stints with the franchise. In 2019, when he made his MLB debut, he threw 7.1 shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Despite that success, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the Baltimore Orioles.
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He would spend time with the Miami Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks before being selected off waivers by Tampa Bay in 2023. After being granted free agency and signing with the New York Mets in November of that year, he was purchased by the Rays on July 26, 2024.
He has been with the team since, fighting and clawing to earn a spot in the Major League bullpen. A job could certainly be his heading into the winter after making 18 appearances and throwing 22.2 innings in 2025.
He registered a 1.99 ERA with 22 strikeouts, with an ERA+ of 210 and FIP of 2.69. Sulser finds success despite not having overpowering stuff with a solid arsenal that includes strong offspeed pitches.