In the Tampa Bay Rays’ tradition of extracting unexpected value from overlooked arms, Bryan Baker stands tall as a textbook success story.
Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles on July 10, 2025 in exchange for a competitive balance draft pick (No. 37 overall), which the Rays would later re-acquire in the Shane Baz trade, the 6-foot-6 right-hander arrived as a solid but unspectacular middle-to-late reliever with limited closing experience. By mid-August 2026, he has become MLB’s leading closer with 34
saves, an All-Star, and the holder of a new franchise record for consecutive saves.
Baker’s path to Tampa Bay was circuitous. Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round out of the University of North Florida in 2016, he debuted with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021, spent several seasons with the Orioles after a waiver claim, and posted a 3.52 ERA in 42 appearances for Baltimore in 2025 before the trade. His initial stretch with the Rays was uneven (4.75 ERA in 30⅓ innings), but the organization did what it does best: lean into his strengths.
Under the Rays’ pitching development staff, Baker significantly increased usage of his changeup —like most Rays pitchers this year —making him essentially a two-pitch pitcher. Out of 729 pitches thrown, he’s tried the slider just 26 times all season.
The results have been dominant, with his sky high release point giving shades of Pete Fairbanks while his closely mirrored change up benefits from what FanGraphs called “a devastating tunneling effect.” As a result, through early August, he owns a 1.55 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 34 saves (leading MLB by three SV) in 46⅓ innings, with a 96th percentile chase rate.
On August 8, 2026, Baker converted his 23rd consecutive save opportunity against the Seattle Mariners, surpassing Fernando Rodney’s franchise record set in 2012. After the game, mlb.com reported that the players demanded Baker slant his hat to the side in homage to Rodney (he declined), and Kevin Kelly declared him “Mr. Consistency” to the press. Post game, the childhood Rays fan Baker said it was an honor to be counted alongside a player he grew up watching regularly, and shrugged off the accomplishment calling saves a “team stat.”
The Rays’ all-time saves list is led by Roberto Hernández (101), followed by Alex Colomé (95), Pete Fairbanks (90), and Fernando Rodney (85), while the franchise’s single-season leaders are Rodney (48 – 2012), Colomé (47 – 2017), and Rafael Soriano (45 – 2010). Baker’s current tally of 35 total saves and 34 in 2026 both rank ninth overall in franchise history for a career and single season, respectively.
Baker will reach eighth on the franchise leaderboard when he ties Esteban Yan’s 42, and then it could be a quick shot up the leaderboard for the single season record held by Fernando Rodney.
With 42 games left in the regular season, Baker is 15 saves shy of the all time record.
Looking back, Rodney’s 2012 season—48 saves, a 0.60 ERA, and Cy Young consideration—remains the gold standard for a Rays closer’s peak, while Fairbanks provided perhaps the most multi-year high-leverage reliability. Baker’s current trajectory puts him in conversation with both, and that’s not even accounting for what reputation the playoffs could bring, where the record for post season saves is a meager three (tied between Fairbanks and Diego Castillo, 2020 playoffs).
For now, he is the reliable ninth-inning presence for a competitive Rays club, the record-holder for consecutive saves, and an All-Star for his childhood club. That combination already secures him a meaningful chapter in Rays history. How long and how brightly that chapter continues will determine whether he joins the upper tier of the franchise’s all-time greats like Fairbanks or a one-season phenomenon like Soriano. Either way, the Rays’ latest pitching alchemy has produced something special.
