AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 11, 2026

Griffin Jax

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. First off, Griffin, have you been given any indication whether you're going to be a starting pitcher this time around, a relief pitcher? Even if you don't want to answer that question, just what was last series like for you kind of shifting back into that bullpen role and stepping up when your team needed?

GRIFFIN JAX: I don't think any decision has been made yet, aside from Drew going tomorrow. So I'm just anticipating to throw in whatever capacity or role necessary.

But it was a lot of fun last series going back to something I used to do. It's like riding a bike. The adrenaline of a playoff game gets you really excited. Kind of makes you realize you don't need all the hours of prep that comes with starting pitching; it's just when your name gets called, you get going. And there you go.

Q. Can you talk about watching last night's game? Where did you watch it? What was your experience? We were talking to Drew about whether or not he actively watched it for himself for information.

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, I actually didn't get to pitch against the Guardians at all this year. It was two series that I wasn't a part of as a starting pitcher.

But I had a lineup card for both of those teams out watching them with my three-year-old and one-year-old running all over me. So it was a little bit hard to focus, at least until they went to bed.

But it's been a while since we played both those teams as well. So they're both two really good ball clubs. I think Cleveland matches up with us really well. Very similar style of ball. They do little things right, pitching, defense, base running; they're not going to give you free outs, so it's a little bit of a different style there. But two really good teams.

At the end of the day, I think it's going to be really exciting series against Cleveland.

Q. Were they laid out on a coffee table in front of you?

GRIFFIN JAX: I had them in my hand trying to wrestle these two kids, without letting them trying to crumple them.

Q. With Rass, what have you kind of come to learn and respect the most about him in the time that you've spent around here the last year and a half?

GRIFFIN JAX: He's such a good role model for this team. A young player, veteran player, doesn't matter, he's the same guy every single day.

With my background, I've always thought that my work ethic and discipline had always been, for the most part, pretty good, and then I come in and I see what he does. I'm like, wow, I'm nowhere near that.

He's also great for me, just to keep me accountable. When I get to the ballpark and the clubhouse, I think I'm the first one there, he's already an hour or two into his day. It's just great to hold you to just a higher standard. And I think everybody gravitates towards that.

Q. For as much discussion as there has been for a long time about the Rays outsmarting, using analytics to beat people, it's finally coming to the forefront that there's also this really big emphasis of the person before the player. So what have you experienced just coming over here and how different that's been?

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, it's a huge pillar of this organization. They want to put all the right people in the room together. I think that goes a long way.

For example, young guys, rookies that haven't had a whole lot of experience in the Major Leagues, when they get up here -- speaking from experience -- it's really hard to try to be yourself in the Major Leagues. The lights are brighter, the questions are tougher, the pressure is greater. It's just really hard to kind of open up and just be yourself on a day-to-day basis, but the Rays do a really good job of just letting you be yourself.

With that, I think your confidence comes out a little bit quicker and you're able to just focus on baseball rather than the things that kind of mount up and put a lot more pressure on you when you're trying to first step and be a Major Leaguer.

I think that's why you get such a large contribution from a lot of our role players. If they were in another club, another organization, another media market, it might not be that way, but here, it's just baseball, and you get to focus on that.

Q. Can you talk about how rewarding this season has been for you and the bullpen? You worked yourself up to being a starter again in the big leagues. Then you had an IL stint and you came out of that with flying colors. Just how really rewarding it's been for you this entire season?

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, it's been a really fun and long year. I started this year in the WBC, and that was a really fun, really rewarding experience getting to play with some of the best players in the world, at that point, the biggest stage in my career.

Then the season starts and doesn't go necessarily the way I wanted it to or expected it to, and an opportunity came up for me to look at starting again. Just hearing the belief from Kyle and Cash and Eric, just sitting me down and explaining and showing me why they believed I could do it, it just gave me a lot of confidence to do it.

With the transition, I was happy with it. I think it was a pretty successful one, and I learned a lot, and there's a lot that I want to visit again this offseason to better prepare myself for it again next year.

Q. Baseball is such a routine-oriented sport. I think until we get to Games 1 and 2, you guys went to play back-to-back games for over two weeks. How have you guys kind of managed the physical part, but also the emotional and mental part of that?

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, it's really hard to replicate that. I don't know how much y'all have seen our scrimmages, but they pump the fake music in or the fake crowd noise.

At the end of the day, I think it is an advantage having this rest. The season is really long, 162 games, not a lot of off days. Bullpen was kind of wearing it towards the end of the year.

Especially for those guys, with how the ALDS went, not having to rely on them as much as we necessarily did throughout the season was huge for those guys, just to give them a breather.

But it's an age-old debate, rest versus rust. I think any player would rather have the rest there, just give yourself a breather, like I said, and hit some treatment a little bit harder than you necessarily would have during the season without the time.

But I think still, at the end of the day, this team is going to be ready. We have all the confidence in the way we prepare.

Q. Have you ever been on a team that's been this selfless? You and Ian started most of the year, you shift back to the bullpen. You have a guy like Ryan, who doesn't play in the first couple of games, steps up. Chandler, who's played most of the season, sits, happy camper. Just what is it like in there for everyone to just know their role and to fall in line and do what they've got to do?

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, it's a really selfless group. A lot of guys that are just willing to put egos aside and get the job done.

When we had our starter meeting before the series, it was kind of laid out to us, like, guys, we don't really know how we're going to anticipate this Division Series against the Yankees, aside from Drew. Does anybody -- addressing me, Freddy, Nick and Ian, the question was, do you guys have any care as to what you do?

And the answer was very quick. We all said no. We just want to pitch. And whatever that means, whatever that means.

I think that speaks to the group as a whole. We have so many solid, consistent role players. It doesn't matter who's starting that day guys know they're going to get a chance later in the game, and I think that helps them keep them locked in and rooting for everybody because at the end of the day we just want to win and go as far as we can.

Q. I know you haven't faced Cleveland this year, but being with Minnesota for several years, you saw Jose Ramirez a lot. Can you just speak to the challenges that he poses for any team but maybe you in particular facing him over the years?

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, I've had a lot of at-bats against him. He's on a Hall of Fame trajectory. He's an incredible player, one of my favorites to watch, actually.

But he thinks along with you with the at-bat. He knows who he's facing. He knows the tendencies, the percentages, count-based stuff that is going to try to help give him an advantage.

I think he's just prepared. He knows what he's doing. He knows his approach. He's not going to try to do something different.

If he needs to slap a single the other way, he's going to do it and then try to steal. Or if he gets a pitch to hit out of the park, he's going to do it. So really, really talented ball player, and changes that lineup pretty significantly.

Q. You were talking about Jose thinking along with you, how do you feel that as a pitcher?

GRIFFIN JAX: That's a really good question. I think Ben Rice does it really well as well with the Yankees, especially with how much he faced us and knowing our pitchers' specific tendencies, you can kind of see in a few games, a few at-bats.

I think if you're facing a guy, you still need to go with your strengths. It's kind of strength versus strength there. But you can't just fall in love with that. You've got to still have some level of unpredictability and at the end of the day just try to sequence it the right way and put the pitch and execute.

Q. Is that a statement to a physical reaction to a specific pitch?

GRIFFIN JAX: Yeah, I mean, there might be some foul balls, you can kind of tell, oh, he was kind of expecting that. And if it's a pitch that you'd probably expect to swing and miss, you don't get it, you can kind of see that he was thinking along there with you.