ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays went out of their way this season, right up through the beginning of the World Series, to make sure that Drew Rasmussen made as many starts as possible with extra rest.
But Wednesday night was Game 5 of the World Series, and Tampa Bay’s season was on the line. So, the Rays played their ace.
Four days after starting Game 2 in Milwaukee, Rasmussen made his way back to the mound to start Game 5 for the Rays at Tropicana Field. It wouldn’t be a normal start, the coaching staff told him. He was limited to four innings or 60 pitches.
Even at the end of the line, with everything at stake, the Rays were looking out for him.
“This organization, man, it's the best. They always look out for me,” Rasmussen said after the Rays’ season-ending 4-1 loss to the Brewers. “They're doing their best to protect me, and unfortunately, their biggest enemy in that is myself.”
But still, as usual, Rasmussen did his job. He allowed just one run on two hits while striking out four over four efficient innings. It just wasn’t enough for the Rays to overcome the Brewers en route to their first World Series title.
“He's a stud. That guy is a stud. His stuff was as sharp as it could have been,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We had gone into the game saying it was 60 pitches or four innings. Stuck to that. That was the easiest call in the world to take him out of the ballgame. We've worked very hard with all of our pitchers and pride ourselves on doing right by them.”
Talks about this assignment began during Game 4, when pitching coach Kyle Snyder checked in with both Rasmussen and fellow starter Nick Martinez about their availability for Game 5.
Unsurprisingly, both said they would do whatever they can to keep the Rays’ season alive. That meant Martinez was available out of the bullpen on Wednesday night, and Rasmussen started. Cash called Rasmussen to confirm the decision around 1 a.m., not too long after Game 4 ended.
The 48-pitch outing was Rasmussen’s first time pitching on three days’ rest since he was working as a multi-inning reliever/opener down the stretch in 2024, and it came on the game’s biggest stage.
Rasmussen threw 89 pitches over 3 2/3 innings while permitting three runs on six hits in Saturday’s defeat at American Family Field. He had been lined up to pitch a potential Game 6 in Milwaukee on Friday, when he would have been working on five days’ rest, but he didn’t throw his usual between-starts bullpen session on Tuesday.
He just wanted the ball one more time.
Rasmussen has made 35 starts this year between the regular season and the postseason, and 27 of them came with five days’ rest or more. He only made seven starts on what was once considered “regular” (four days’) rest. That was one of the reasons that Tampa Bay opted to start Martinez in Game 1 of the Fall Classic and push Rasmussen back to Game 2.
There was also plenty of logic and careful consideration behind the Rays’ more cautious handling of Rasmussen leading into the Fall Classic. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery twice before beginning his professional career, and he underwent an internal brace procedure -- a third major elbow surgery -- in 2023 that also sidelined him for much of the ‘24 season.
But they didn’t have much of a choice heading into another win-or-go-home game on Wednesday night.
Now comes a different question: What’s next for Rasmussen?
The 31-year-old right-hander clearly established himself this season as one of the game’s most effective starters, going 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 172 innings over 30 starts. The two-time All-Star was at his best in his first three postseason starts, permitting only three runs over 21 innings as he led Tampa Bay to the World Series.
The Rays love Rasmussen, and Rasmussen loves the Rays. But this is a business, and his contract comes with a $20 million club option for next season. It would be a high price for a team with Tampa Bay’s resources, but it’s hard to imagine one side without the other at this point.
“I’ve got a lot of thoughts. What they are, I don’t know, unfortunately,” Rasmussen said when asked about his future, adding that he hopes to stay with the Rays. “I mean, I don’t know, man. There’s a business element to this, and I understand that, and I just -- I don’t know.”