At least for the time being, 5 innings are enough for former Mt. Spokane standout Drew Rasmussen
NEW YORK – He’s been through this before. Too many times, if you want to know the truth.
So, while Drew Rasmussen is eager to begin pitching deeper in games, the right-hander understands that an overabundance of caution is meant to protect an elbow that is worth millions.
Even when it occasionally breaks.
When Rasmussen – the former Mt. Spokane ace – takes the mound as scheduled on Tuesday against the Phillies, he’ll more than likely throw the same five innings that he has in five of his first six starts of the season.
He said he hasn’t started lobbying for longer outings yet, because he knows manager Kevin Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder have his future in mind when they pull him from games, following his third major elbow surgery in July 2023.
“I give them all the credit in the world, because I can be a pain in the butt to work with,” Rasmussen said. “They put up with me, and they have a lot of patience with me. We talked about having a conservative start to the year over the course of April and my first handful of starts, and to their credit they’ve held me to that better than I think I would have held myself.
“It’s really cool to be in a place that values your health, values you as a person. What Cashy and Snides have done for me is protect me from myself more than anything.”
It’s not exactly a strict pitch or inning limit. Against the Yankees a couple of weeks ago, Rasmussen was allowed to start the sixth when he got through the first five innings with a lower pitch count.
The idea is to build up Rasmussen’s endurance and strength at a pace that recognizes his elbow has already gone through more than virtually anybody pitching in the majors today.
The Rays had talked in spring training about getting to mid-May before working Rasmussen deeper into games, but even then he’s not likely to jump to seven or eight innings.
“I do think we’ll get to that step where we’re approaching six innings,” Cash said. “We’ll have to sit down and talk with him at some point. Like, if you go this amount, do you have to pull back in the next start? And how many days off between starts? So, a lot of variables in there that we’re going to just continue to try to be really mindful of.
“The most important thing is keeping him healthy, and none of us has the crystal ball on how to do that. But the more minds and thoughts we can put together, I think we’ll be in a better position.”
The one thing that hasn’t changed is Rasmussen’s effectiveness. He’s 1-2 with a 2.64 ERA this season and, in his five years with the Rays, has gone 20-13 with a 2.71 ERA.