Rays Right-Hander Drew Rasmussen Plagued by Mixed Feelings Heading Into 22nd Start

TAMPA — With his 22nd start ahead of him, Tampa Bay Rays All-Star right-hander Drew Rasmussen is dealing with mixed emotions.

The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, and with it, the loss of teammates Danny Jansen and Zack Littell.

On Monday, the Rays traded Jansen to the Milwaukee Brewers. Two days later, they sent Littell to the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team trade.

The Hardships

“It’s sad, you know, you build relationships with people,” Rasmussen said before Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The bonds that Rasmussen shared with Littell and Jansen went beyond baseball and into a friendship that extended to their children.

“I’m thinking about my son and the fact that Miles, Wyatt and Drew are some of his closest friends,” Rasmussen said. “And so to see Danny and Zack leave, quite frankly, they’re some of my best friends in this game and in this locker room. It’s heartbreaking.”

The Positives

Despite the difficulties associated with no longer playing alongside Littell and Jansen, Rasmussen sees the good in it all.

“On the flip side, there is definitely a positive to pieces that we also acquired and doing our best to strengthen our roster and give us the best possible chance to compete and find ourselves in the postseason in October.”

To recapture their playoff homes, the Rays have an uphill battle ahead of them. In July, the Rays won just seven games, the lowest mark in Major League Baseball. Then, they opened the first day of August with a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. At 54-57, the Rays sit in seventh place in the wild card standings.

Rasmussen will have his hands full with the Dodgers’ star-studded batting order, which ranks second in home runs (164) and second in RBIs (553). However, the 30-year-old doesn’t plan to change his approach.

“I don’t feel like the game plan changes a whole lot,” Rasmussen said. “You have individual scouting reports and how you want to attack individuals, but overall, I think the game plan is always the same.”

Against Rasmussen, Los Angeles’s current lineup has a .206 average (7-for-34).

“I think there are certain processes that maximize the possibility of having a successful outcome: Being aggressive early in counts and filling up the strike zone.” 

Rasmussen (8-5, 2.96 ERA) will face former Rays southpaw Blake Snell (1-0, 2.00 ERA) when Tampa Bay faces the Dodgers on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET.