February 13, 2026

Uceta was a hot commodity heading into 2025 thanks to the nutty 1.51 ERA, 1.70 FIP, and 30.8% K-BB% he put up in 41.2 innings in 2024. Unfortunately, his ratios wavered when exposed to more action, and Uceta finished with a 3.79 ERA, 3.69 FIP, and 23.7% K-BB% in 2025. He did have a 2.84 SIERA and the K-BB% remained strong, so the underlying skills suggest that he could perform much better. He caught an acute case of gopheritis with a 1.3 HR/9, his highest since 2021 with the Dodgers. The move back to Tropicana should help him, and he'll probably see a reduction on the 13.8% HR/FB ratio. Uceta could be a good bounce back candidate in the bullpen, but the big problem is role uncertainty in Tampa Bay. As of writing this, Tampa has three different players listed as their closer on Roster Resource, including Uceta, who had just one save last season. Tampa Bay is routinely one of the most unpredictable bullpens, and if I had to choose one pitcher to be their closer it would be Griffin Jax. Jax struggled to a 4.23 ERA last season, but his underlying numbers look even better than Uceta. Uceta could be in the mix for the occasional save, and could be a ratio and strikeout help if things go right for him, but ultimately unless he's named the closer he's probably not worth a top-300 pick.--Elliott Baas