Rays' rotation a pool of talent, leadership

At one point this past offseason, Willy Adames admitted that he was worried, since Charlie Morton had signed with the Braves and Blake Snell had been traded to the Padres. The Rays were left with two voids to fill on their pitching staff: innings and experience.

Tampa Bay believes it addressed both by signing four veteran pitchers: Michael Wacha, Chris Archer, Collin McHugh and Rich Hill. That quartet has worked a combined 3,913 1/3 innings over a collective 40 years in the Major Leagues, and the Rays are already getting a sense of the leadership qualities that come along with that experience.

“They're really good at what they do,” Adames said. “I'm really excited about that, and I'm looking forward to watching them pitch and enjoying the ride with them and trying to learn from them, because they've been around and they know what they do.”

What roles they’ll play remains to be seen. Manager Kevin Cash said the Rays don’t yet have a rotation in order, not even written in pencil. They’ll open the season in Miami, playing under National League rules, and they have an off-day on each side of their second series in Boston before their home opener. They could begin the year with a traditional five-man rotation, or they could break up the group with openers or some other strategy.

The Rays likely won’t make any decisions until the final week of Spring Training, after they’ve evaluated their options and spent more time with their new pitchers. Even then, you can safely assume that Tampa Bay’s pitching staff will change and evolve quite a bit over the next six months.

“We’ve got a lot of good pitching,” Cash said. “It's going to be fun to sort through it throughout the course of the season.”

At the moment, it looks like Wacha, Archer and Hill are being stretched out to function like rotation options along with returning starters Tyler Glasnow and Ryan Yarbrough. McHugh could pitch in a variety of different roles. The Rays will certainly call upon a bunch of talented young pitchers throughout the season, though, and they’re counting on the new guys to be good examples for the next wave of arms, such as prospects Shane McClananahn, Luis Patiño and Shane Baz.

The Rays experienced that during Morton’s time with Tampa Bay, with general manager Erik Neander saying the veteran right-hander’s positive influence will be evident in their younger players for years to come. They’re hoping for a similar impact from Wacha, Archer, Hill and McHugh.

“We have a lot of youth. They’re impressionable,” Neander said at the start of Spring Training. “These players that come in on one-year deals, you never know what’s after it, but they each have an opportunity to leave lasting impressions on the talent that’s here. … We’ve been the beneficiary of having some great veteran leadership the last few years and expect the same this year.”

Hill, who turned 41 on Thursday, said he’s heard about the impression Morton made on the Rays with his character, work ethic and consistency in the clubhouse. Hill hopes to provide some of the same traits, and he’s made himself available to younger players who might have questions. He can speak to a variety of different circumstances, as he’s pitched everywhere from independent ball to the World Series during this successful second act of his 16-year career.

“If I can help in any way to save a week, a month, a year or, shoot, years on somebody's career, to give them a piece of advice that might help them out, I'll absolutely do it,” Hill said. “Because at the end of the day, we're benefiting the individual to become as good as they can become and make the most out of their career, and for us to win as a team. … If I can help with performance or whatever it might be, I'm pretty humbled to be able to have that opportunity.”

With players divided and distanced throughout several different clubhouses in the Rays’ Charlotte Sports Park complex, creating chemistry has been more of a challenge than usual this Spring Training. But Archer has also made an effort to reach out to younger players he might not know from his previous tenure with Tampa Bay, even asking teammates like Adames to introduce him to prospects like Wander Franco.

“With the younger starting pitchers, I do want them to know that I'm here for them if they need anything,” Archer said. “Hopefully they need nothing, but if they need anything, I want them know I'm here for them.”

Wacha has shown a similar willingness to invest in his new teammates. Brandon Lowe said he faced Wacha during live batting practice the other day, and rather than heading back into the clubhouse, the 29-year-old right-hander spent the rest of the workout watching other pitchers and talking to the Rays’ second baseman.

“If I can help in any way with experience or shedding some type of light or helping these guys out, I'm all here for that, for sure. And I'm here to learn as well,” Wacha said. “If you think you've got everything figured out in this game, you're sadly mistaken. It's always a learning experience.”

McHugh came to the organization with rave reviews from those who know him, including Morton, and he’s also used batting practice as an opportunity to get to know his new teammates. Veteran pitchers might typically dread the monotony of spending their mornings out in the sun shagging fly balls. But now, it’s become a valuable time each day.

McHugh and Archer also discussed the possibility of getting a group together to have dinner outside, hoping to spend some time together away from the ballpark. Camaraderie is built over time, but every conversation helps.

“All those guys have the right mentality and the right personality. They’re going to fit right in,” Lowe said. “It's going to be like they've been here for their whole career.”

The Rays set out to sign quality pitchers, not mentors. But what’s wrong with getting both?

“If you’ve got a bunch of veterans that seem to be just really good guys, it really helps and it really trickles down and brings in that comfort for the younger guys,” Cash said. “I don't know if that was required or needed, but it's certainly welcomed.”