Ian

Seymour

The Rays turned to Bryan Baker in the eighth inning to face the top of the Toronto lineup, and he set them down in order while recording one strikeout. That meant Seymour was given the ninth inning, even though Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was leading. The decision may not have been the same had the Rays not had a three-run cushion, but Seymour struck out Vladdy and then retired the next two hitters he saw on lineouts. This was the left-hander’s first save of the season, but it’s unclear if there will be many more.

That’s not great news. Matz looked good on Sunday, allowing one run in six innings to lower his ERA to 3.86 and his WHIP to 1.10. Obviously, he did not respond well after the start, so we’ll have to wait and see how long he will be sidelined for. The Rays are in the process of stretching out Griffin Jax and Mason Englert (forearm) as starters, and Joe Boyle (elbow) is on the injured list, so they may have to turn to Joe Rock or Ian Seymour to take at least one start in Matz’s place.

Kelly got the call to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning with a runner on first base after southpaw Ian Seymour retired left-handed batters Garrett Mitchell and David Hamilton. He managed to retire pinch-hitter Blake Perkins on a harmless ground ball to extinguish the threat and preserve the victory. Griffin Jax looked sharp while working a scoreless seventh inning of a tie ballgame while Garrett Cleavinger got the eighth. We’re anticipating the Rays continue deploying a closer-by-committee approach, which makes it a virtually stay-away fantasy-wise.

Not only does Martinez miss pitching against the Cardinals, but he now has to face the Brewers in Milwaukee. In addition to that, he has a hamstring issue after pitching to a 14.49 ERA this spring. The Rays are downplaying the issue, but it’s hard to see Martinez lasting long in the rotation with the way Ian Seymour pitched this spring. Seymour likely should have been given a chance to start anyway, with how well he pitched at the end of last season.

Seymour came on for Joe Boyle to start the fourth inning and all he did was retire all 10 hitters that he faced in order — including strikeouts of Max Schuemann, Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Paul DeJong and George Lombard Jr. It’s going to take at least one injury to open up a spot in the Rays’ rotation for Seymour, but he’ll be a very intriguing option for fantasy purposes if/when he does get that chance.

Seymour actually threw 61 percent strikes and got ahead in the count often; he just couldn’t get any Tigers hitters to chase when he was ahead. He had just a seven percent whiff rate on the day, with his only whiff coming on a sweeper. He’ll need to get his command in order if he has any chance of beating out Steven Matz and Joe Boyle for the final spot in the Rays’ rotation.

Seymour allowed a pair of singles, but he picked off one of the runners. The Nick Martinez signing left no room for Seymour or Joe Boyle in Tampa Bay’s rotation if everyone who stays healthy, but those two will still jockey for position in case an injury strikes.

The Rays definitely aren’t giving Martinez that kind of money to pitch out of the pen, so assuming that everyone stays healthy, there won’t be any room in the rotation for Joe Boyle or Ian Seymour on Opening Day. Of course, it’d hardly be a surprise if someone went down. Martinez might have some fantasy potential pitching in a situation as good as Tampa Bay’s (now that the team is returning to the Trop). He had a 4.45 ERA for the Reds last season, but he should improve on that and make a contribution in WHIP.

If spring training started today, the Rays would have Joe Boyle, Ian Seymour, Jesse Scholtens and Joe Rock vying for one rotation spot behind Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot and Shane Baz. The Rays, though, apparently would prefer to have another Zack Littell-type pitcher around to add to their depth. If that works out, it’d probably take an injury to someone to avoid a return to Triple-A for Boyle, Seymour and the rest.

Four of the runs came on a grand slam by Alejandro Kirk. Not that Seymour was good prior — or after — that. The 26-year-old lefty ends 2025 on a dour note and sees his ERA jump up to 3.63 from the 2.85 he enjoyed prior to Sunday, but there were some good moments for Seymour in 2025. He’ll have a role with the Rays in 2026, but it’s not likely one to have a ton of fantasy upside.