The good news?
The Rays' top three starting pitchers are healthy and seemingly on their way to career-high numbers for innings pitched.
The bad news?
The Rays' top three starting pitchers are healthy and seemingly on their way to career-high numbers for innings pitched.
You see how this could be an issue, right? The fact that Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez have been healthy throughout the first half of the season is absolutely a critical factor in the Rays leading the American League East by three games this morning.
But their workload is also concerning when you consider that McClanahan missed the last two seasons due to arm problems, Rasmussen has had three major elbow operations, and Martinez turns 36 next week. Heck, if you like, we could also throw in Griffin Jax, who has transitioned from the bullpen and should exceed his career high for innings when he starts Tuesday night against Texas.
The Rays have already started making adjustments, giving McClanahan seven, six and 10 days of rest between his first three starts of July.
“It’s a constant conversation, a daily conversation,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the number of innings for starters. “We’re trying to manage workloads. Obviously, we got ahead of it with Mac before the (All-Star) break. With Ras, we’ve pulled (him from) a couple of outings, where we’ve shaved it really quick and explained to him that, hey, your next time you’re either coming back on normal rest or this is an opportunity to get you out of the ballgame.
“Nick, I feel like every time we’ve pushed him (deeper) we’ve pulled him back a little bit. Whether it’s seven innings, the next outing will generally come in at five. It’s a fluid conversation that we’re very mindful of, and know that we’ve got to continue to be mind of all of all their workloads, and that includes Jax and (Ian) Seymour as well.”
The concern is twofold. No. 1, with this generation of pitchers accustomed to throwing max effort on so many pitches, the rate of elbow and shoulder injuries has skyrocketed in recent years. So keeping arms rested is crucial to maintaining good health.
No. 2, the Rays do not want their starters to get fatigued down the stretch. It’s not just a question of throwing a career-high number of innings during the 162-game regular season, but also preparing for the possibility of an extended postseason where starters could get an additional four to five starts.
Rasmussen was cruising against the Guardians in a 1-0 victory on Sunday and he’d only thrown 87 pitches through seven innings, but there wasn’t even a discussion about whether he would begin the eighth inning. He has yet to go beyond seven innings since returning from his third elbow operation in 2023.
“Cashy made it pretty clear pretty quickly that after the seventh I was done,” Rasmussen said. “With how much confidence we have in our bullpen, I think that was going to be the decision.”
So how will this play out?
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rays chase another starting pitcher before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. That doesn’t mean Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, but it could be a No. 2 or 3 starter who could lengthen the rotation’s depth and also give the Rays a fallback option if a pitcher ends up on the injured list in August or September.
Barring a trade, the Rays could also look to their minor league system where Ty Johnson might provide a few spot starts in the final two months of the season.
At the very least, you can expect Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder to figure out ways to give Rasmussen and McClanahan extra days between starts in an effort to keep their inning total in the 150 range. Rasmussen is currently at 111 and McClanahan is at 96. Martinez, whose bigger concern is fatigue more than injury, leads the team with 117 innings.
