Shawn Tolleson, who began last season as the Texas Rangers' closer, is set to join the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Tolleson replaced Neftali Feliz as the closer during the 2015 season and had 35 saves in 37 chances. Tolleson couldn't follow that success last season.
Tolleson, unable to get a feel for his change-up, struggled early last year and had only 11 saves in 15 chances when manager Jeff Banister made a change to Sam Dyson as closer. It was the start of a difficult season for Tolleson.
He spent time on the bereavement list to be with his father, who was fighting cancer. He was demoted to Triple-A Round Rock in July and went on the disabled list in August because of a season-ending back injury.
Tolleson finished with a 7.68 ERA with 53 hits, including eight homers allowed, in 361/3 innings with the Rangers. In October, he refused an outright minor league assignment and took free agency.
