The Rays plan to use Colome, who led the American League with six saves of four or more outs last season, as a traditional ninth-inning closer in 2018, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

On multiple occasions last season, manager Kevin Cash called upon Colome to bail the team out of some tight eighth-inning scenarios, but he wants to avoid deploying that strategy as much as possible in 2018. Cash acknowledges that it probably "wasn't fair" to the right-hander to take on the extra workload, although he does leave open the possibility of the occasional four-out save opportunity for Colome if absolutely necessary. Even with the occasional extra responsibility last season, Colome was able to notch 47 saves in 53 chances, becoming the first reliever in franchise history to pace the majors in that category. He's had limited work this spring, and the fact that he's yet to throw back-to-back games in Grapefruit League play doesn't concern him much. "We wait for the season to get closer to throw back to back, we'll see," said Colome, stressing the fact that a long season awaits. "I just try to do the same job I did last year. Give it all I have, 100 percent, and see what happens."