Rays Announce ALDS Roster Without Many Surprises

Sep 11, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rays Announce ALDS Roster Without Many Surprises

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Oct 3, 2026 12:36 PM ET

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With the American League Division Series set to kick off on Saturday night for the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees, the Rays have made the decision on what their roster is going to look like.

It has been a great season for Tampa Bay, and one of the biggest surprises is that they will be looking to finish a storybook year. After clinching things relatively early, the Rays have had some time off and were awaiting the winner of the AL Wild Card Series.

Many were expecting Tampa Bay to come back down to earth at some point this season, but that never occurred. The Rays have been able to answer every challenge that was put in front of them, and it has truly been a great year from start to finish.

Now, with the ALDS set to start, their roster is set, and they will be hoping to keep their World Series hopes alive.

Roster is Set

ALDS squad stand up #ForTampaBay | #Postseason pic.twitter.com/4sqnea82KE
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 3, 2026

As the Rays head home to take down the Yankees, they will be deploying a roster of 12 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders, and five outfielders for their 26-man roster.

With a couple of key pitchers getting healthy, the team kept the talented Brody Hopkins off the roster in favor of some of their veterans instead. Furthermore, Shane McClanahan was also not on the roster as expected.

Coming back from injury are both Garrett Cleavinger and Tyler Wells, who could provide the bullpen with a nice boost. In the lineup, the Rays elected not to go with three catchers like some other teams do, and will instead have a plethora of infielders at their disposal.

While it’s been announced that Drew Rasmussen will be pitching in Game 1, the team has been rather quiet regarding their plans after that. Surely, it will be Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez getting the other two starts, but in which order remains unknown.

On the other side, the big name that is missing for the Yankees is Aaron Judge. As the multiple-time AL MVP, this is a big loss for New York. Fortunately, their lineup looked pretty good without him against the Boston Red Sox, and they will be looking to continue to perform well.

As arguably the two best teams in the AL this year, it’s unfortunate that they aren’t meeting in the ALCS. However, the winner of this series will be feeling good about their chances to win the pennant.

This article first appeared on Tampa Bay Rays on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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