A bond forming among Rays’ starters

TAMPA, Fla. – Late last season, Rays manager Kevin Cash was informally speaking with reporters in the Tampa Bay dugout. When a Toronto writer told him the Rays could have several starters ready for the 2025 season, Cash responded,” how about nine?”

That addressed the depth of a potential starting rotation.

As events unfolded for the opening two months of the season, starters selected by Cash, for the most part, have not disappointed. Perhaps the lingering question lies with Cash. What kind of leash will he place on each starter? With the season progressing, will starters have the opportunity to go deep into games and run a pitch over 100 pitches?

At this point and at the end of May, Cash has given no indication as to his plans for starters. He will only commit to a next start and the proverbial, “we’ll see how it goes.”

When lefty Shane McClanahan went down with left triceps nerve-related issues on March 26, his absence did not place the rotation into serious jeopardy, Instead, several stepped forward, and no,w nearly at the quarter-pole of the season, those taking the ball every five days seem to bond into a common purpose.

“It’s really support for one another,” said Drew Rasmussen, who recorded his third win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Toronto on May 23. “Bad outings, unfortunately, will happen over the course of the season, and it’s more bout picking their brains. It’s just the ability to lean on each other, pick each other’s mind,s and to get an understanding of what we want to do every day to win.”

Among the current five starters, only Taj Bradley (4-3) has a winning record, Shane Baz is 3-3 and Rasmussen (2-3), Zack Littell (3-5), and Ryan Pepiot (2-5) remain on the negative side. Yet, the club ERA is under four runs per nine innings (3.82 through the first 50 games), and Rasmussen’s 2.60 tops the club. In the American League, Rasmussen’s ERA is ninth among starters.

Perhaps the one variable that characterizes the starters’ approach is communication. Both Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder foster the “open door” policy. More importantly, players have taken among themselves to learn and grow from simply knocking on their neighbor’s door.

“We’re always pulling for each other and to go out to pitch the best of our abilities,” said Pepiot, whose ERA is below four runs per game (3.99) for his 10 starts. “We have all the confidence in each and every single guy when they take the ball. We know any one of us can go deep in a ball game and give our club a chance to win. We’re all in this together.”

Over the course of the past several seasons, Rasmussen has emerged as perhaps the most cerebral of the starters. His game preparation, video education and communication skills make for an impressive standard of principals. Plus, his desire to return to the mound after two Tommy John surgeries exemplifies his character and demeanor.

Following the grinding rehab process, the 29-year-old from Puyallup, Wash. returned Aug. 7 last season, started four games and appeared in 16 in total.

“They are still some restrictions on him,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe, noting Rasmussen’s road to recovery. “You see him go out there and see a very intelligent pitcher. Not only does he have incredible stuff, but he’s also doing his homework and the game plan. He’s always figuring out what he needs to do to attack the next hitter, and it’s fun to watch a guy like that. He is not up there checking the baseball and expecting to get results. He knows he’s putting the work in off the field. Pre-game preparation and everything else to win is part of him.”

Two months into the season … with teams approaching the 50-game mark into the season, the American Lague East, among others, remain highly competitive. The AL East has four teams within seven games of one another, and the AL Central has four teams within five games. The NL Central has four teams within 5.5 games and the NL West has four teams within five games. In the AL East, the decline of the Orioles (16-32 after 48 games) was the catalyst to severe ties with manager Brandon Hyde on May 17, and the first significant casualty of the division. “There are many good teams, obviously, and the start Baltimore has is very unexpected,” said Toronto manager John Scheider before the Jays opened a three-game set with the Rays in Tampa. “Our division is wide open. To create separation, it comes to health, consistency and multiple guys clicking at the right time. For our club, it’s the same for the Rays. You need to find a good handful of your guys going at the right time, offensively.”

On the diamond … home runs from Brandon Lowe (a two-run bomb) in the third and a solo blast from Curtis Mead in the fourth carried the Rays to a 3-1 win over Toronto in their 50^th game of the season. In gaining the win, Drew Rasmussen extended his scoreless innings to 12, the longest by a Tampa pitcher this season. In two starts this season against AL East division rivals, he has posted a 0.77 ERA in 11.2 innings. That includes an outing against the New York Yankees on April 18 and May 23 against the Blue Jays.

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