Tyler

Wells

That’s not good. Wells has been terrific in a setup role since being acquired from the Orioles, allowing only three earned runs in 18 innings. He ends the regular season with a 2.38 ERA in 72 innings overall. No word yet on whether the Rays think he might be back for the postseason, though at least they didn’t put him on the 60-day IL.

With Bryan Baker unavailable with an illness on Saturday, Wells got the call to pitch the ninth in a tie game against the Rangers. He worked around a fielding error to hold Texas off the board and take the game to extras. After Tampa Bay took a three-run lead, he closed out the game with a pair of strikeouts to fall in line for the win.

The ninth inning in this one became a bit of a fiasco when the league-leader in saves, Bryan Baker walked the first two batters before being pulled with an injury. Wells came in to clean up the mess and did so after a sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly, and pop-up. He earned a handful of saves earlier this season with the Orioles and even grabbed one last week after Baker needed a second day off after working three games in a row. If Baker needs to miss any time, expect Wells to be the Rays’ closer.

Rays closer Bryan Baker was also off on Tuesday, but he had thrown three days in a row prior to that, so the team was likely being cautious with their closer. Baker has an MLB-leading 38 saves, so there is no controversy here. What is worth noting is that Kevin Kelly had not pitched in the last two days, but he was used for two innings in this game, which allowed Wells to get the chance to close out his fifth save of the season.

Wells bolsters Tampa Bay’s relief depth heading into the home stretch after thriving as a full-time reliever with the division-rival Orioles this season, posting a solid 2.67 ERA across 54 innings of work. He’s an interesting pickup for the Rays, who have had plenty of success with turning unheralded names into elite relievers in the recent past.

The Rays had so much success with Bryan Baker that they’re going back to the Orioles for another unheralded reliever. Wells has made the transition to a full-time relief role appear seamless, notching four saves to go along with a 2.67 ERA across 54 innings of work. This qualifies as a savvy pickup for the Rays to bolster their late-inning equation.

Wells needed just 10 pitches to get through the inning and secure the 6-4 victory for the Orioles. Wells was a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities for the Orioles this month and posted a 1.10 ERA over 16.1 innings of work in July.

The Orioles are up to nine saves in July, three of which belong to Kittredge. Tyler Wells also has three, and he pitched two scoreless innings in Wednesday’s thriller. The other three saves are spread across three different relievers, so this looks like a true committee led by Wells and Kittredge. That makes it difficult to roster either of them in standard mixed leagues, but perhaps more clarity will arrive after Monday’s trade deadline.

Garcia got the call to protect a three-run lead in the final frame after Andrew Kittredge worked a scoreless eighth inning. He needed just 17 pitches (10 strikes) to dispatch the Tigers and preserve the win. He struck out Matt Vierling and Kevin McGonigle before getting Dillon Dingler to pop out in foul territory to end it. Garcia should continue factoring into Baltimore’s late-inning mix along with Kittredge and Tyler Wells while Ryan Helsley (elbow) is on the injured list.

Wells allowed one walk but worked around it. The righty has three saves in July but only one of the team’s past five. He’s part of a closer-by-committee with Ryan Helsley sidelined. If he starts consolidating ninth-inning chances over the season’s final two months, it would do wonders for his fantasy viability.