Every team in baseball is looking to bolster their bullpen. As the past few years have shown, a dominant bullpen can overcome a mediocre starting rotation, even helping a team win the World Series. The problem with that is there are not enough dominant arms to go around, leading to a reliever arms race.
So, for teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, that quest to build up the bullpen often leads to the bargain bin. Players like Fernando Rodney had been brought in with minimal expectations, as the Rays hoped to find a way to return them to their former glory.