A career year results in more accolades for Bryan Baker as the 31-year old hurler has been named the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year.
This award, which debuted in 2014, is given out by Major League Baseball honoring the top relief pitcher in the American League. The National League honor is named after Trevor Hoffman and was awarded to Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres.
Baker came very close to receiving another award as he finished third for the BBWAA American League reliever
of the year; that award went to Louis Varland of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Baker was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round of the 2016 draft. At the 2018 trade deadline, Baker was sent as the Player to be Named Later to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Chad Spanberger and Forrest Wall for Seunghwan Oh. Baker toiled away in Toronto’s system for several years before making his MLB debut in 2021.
That November, Baker was designated for assignment and then picked up off of waivers by the Baltimore Orioles. For the next few years, the Orioles turned to Baker frequently but he was never the type to be used in the highest leverage situations.
During the 2025 season, Baker’s K% soared and he caught the interest of the Tampa Bay Rays. On July 10th, the Rays pulled the trigger on a deal that brought Baker to Tampa Bay in exchange for the 37th overall selection in the upcoming draft; the Rays would actually acquire the player drafted, Slater de Brun, back in December in the Shane Baz trade.
Baker pitched well but the on field results didn’t fully show it. But there was reason to believe in Baker for the 2026 season.
With the new season, Baker took over as the Rays closer with a devastating fastball-change-up combo. Baker utilized this arsenal to become one of the elite relief pitchers of the game, appearing in 65 games during the regular season and compiling a 1.44 ERA | 3.07 FIP with a 25.5 K% and 9.0 BB% over 62.1 IP. Baker converted 41 of 44 save opportunities, and set a new franchise record with 29 consecutive saves.
During the postseason, Baker was incredible as he didn’t allow a run over 9 appearances, securing saves in 5 of the Rays 8 playoff victories.
