TAMPA -- The Durham Bulls had just given up a two-run lead in the eighth inning Saturday night, falling behind by one run at Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. They were coming to hit in the top of the ninth inning when the whole team started cheering in the dugout.
Triple-A manager Morgan Ensberg had just gathered the club to share some news: Left-hander Ian Seymour wasn’t going to make his scheduled start on Sunday. Instead, he was going to the big leagues.
“I’m sure people were probably confused,” Seymour said Sunday morning inside the home clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “‘They just gave up the lead. Why is everyone happy?’”
The Rays recalled Seymour, their No. 19 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, to refresh their bullpen ahead of their 3-2 series-finale win against the Marlins on Sunday afternoon, though he did not make it into the game. In a corresponding move, Tampa Bay optioned right-hander Cole Sulser to Triple-A Durham.
Seymour had company on the Saturday night drive from Jacksonville to Tampa. His mom, Amy, was in town to watch him start Sunday. So, they got in her rental car and hit the road.
“It was a fun little experience for us,” Seymour said.
Seymour said his dad, brother and grandmother also traveled from Boston to watch his potential MLB debut on Sunday. His sister, Isabelle, worked a night shift as a nurse Saturday night in Philadelphia and flew straight down.
“Everything you want it to be, right?” Seymour said, smiling.
The Rays had to use six relievers in Saturday’s 11-10, 10-inning loss to the Marlins. That continued a busy homestand for Tampa Bay’s relief corps, as the bullpen covered 14 innings over the previous four games after pitching just one inning during the final two games in Houston last weekend.
Ironically, Sulser was the only Rays reliever who didn’t pitch on Saturday and thus would have been available Sunday. But the club wanted to add someone who could handle a significant workload, if needed, and Seymour was an ideal candidate as he was already lined up to start for Durham on Sunday.
“Our bullpen has been pretty taxed. We've used them here over the last couple series quite a bit, and they've been so good,” manager Kevin Cash said. “It's unfortunate for Sulser, but these situations arise throughout the course of the season. Cole had thrown the ball really well for us.
“Ian Seymour is a guy who made a great impression in Spring Training. He's done a lot of good things in Durham. The pitchability stands out.”
A second-round pick in the 2020 Draft out of Virginia Tech, Seymour enjoyed a dominant professional debut in 2021 then had his ascent stalled by Tommy John surgery in June 2022. He came back in 2023 and returned to form in ‘24, when the Rays named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year and added him to their 40-man roster.
He picked up where he left off in Triple-A this season, recording a 2.95 ERA with 84 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 61 innings over 12 outings. Relying mostly on his fastball and changeup while mixing in the occasional cutter, slider and curveball, Seymour said his time in big league camp this spring helped him take another step in his development.
“Just an understanding of who I am as a pitcher and really just buying into that plan that they had for me and trying to just throw pitches in locations where positive outcomes happen the most often,” Seymour said. “That's really just the only focus there.”