ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – In the critical hours which is now the post-season, essential components of survival loom significant. That would include pitching and defense. Most pundits argue the conversation stops that this point.
In the American League Division series, the Tampa Bay Rays’ rotation appears more important. The essential question facing manager Kevin Cash and pitching coach Kyle Synder is how to shut down lethal bats of the New York Yankees.
More to the point, starters and relievers need to find ways to keep Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and their companions in the ballpark. That was evident in the Yankees sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card round. Granted, the two games against the Red Sox were out of hand when Rice slammed a grand slam in the game one and Bellinger smashed a three-run shot in the second encounter.
Still, the Rays staff, with advanced technology and Synder’s experience and acumen, face an enormous challenge.
First into the fire is right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who takes the ball from Cash to open the ALDS Saturday night in Tropicana Field. After Wednesday’s workout, Cash told the media he was uncertain beyond Rasmussen, who went 16-5, a 2.67 ERA and career-high 174 strike outs in 172.0 innings. Against the Yankees, Rasmussen went 2-1 and one no-decision.
In preparation for the post-season, Rasmussen went 6.2 innings in Yankee Stadium on Sept. 22 and threw 114 pitches, a career-high. In the post-season, Rasmussen is 0-0 in three games. This includes one with Milwaukee in 2020 and two with Tampa Bay in 2021 and 2022.
“Given the opportunity to play post-season never gets old,” Rasmussen said. “It’s so much fun. I’m happy for the guys who have not experienced this yet. Look, this team really came together. The season was prefaced with the athletism we would have defensively and the ability we were going to have on the mound. Honestly, when you have athletism defensively, you also have this offensively. So, we knew from day one the most conventional way to score runs and we would have the opportunity to do this. The season unfolded the exact way people in this organization talked about from day one.”
Beyond Rasmussen, Cash will likely go with right-hander Nick Martienez, coming off a career season and a 15-6 effort, 3.10 ERA for 31 starts, in game two. Slotted in the third spot would be lefty Shane McClanahan, who is currently in the trainer’s room with left forearm tightness. He was placed on the IR on Sept. 4 and his second session out of the rotation in 2026. Previously, he was sidelined with left mid-back tightness and returned in mid-August for a short time.
Because Cash favors matchups and desires to place a lefty in the rotation for game three, that “x” factor could be lefty Ian Seymour. The 27-year-old out of Hartford, Conn. could give Cash a complementary effort to Rasmussen and Martinez.
Starting the season in the bullpen, Seymour made 16 starts and appeared in 47 games. Before his call the majors last season, Seymour started at AA Montgomery and AAA Durham. In 2025, he made 19 appearances for Tampa Bay and started five games.
With the absence of McClanahan for at least the ALDS, Cash could move Seymour into the rotation and the lefty, who went 9-7 with a 4.71 ERA, would be a potential answer in shutting down the Yankees’ lefty bats of Rice, Bellinger and Chazz Chisholm, Jr.
“The bullen pen was more foreign to me than starting,” Seymour said during the Rays’ final home stand of the season in late September. “Starting is something I’m a little more comfortable. For me, it’s less a learning curve. I’m in a good place, innings wise. Actually, it’s less innings I’ve thrown in the past two seasons.”
Returning to the Trop … Figures are in for the 2026 attendance at major league baseball games. The Rays experienced the largest increase and that was because the team moved from a temporary location at Steinbrenner Field, where they were forced to play because of roof damage to Tropicana Field, back to the Trop. For the 2026 season, the Rays drew 1,414,975 and that was up from the 628,255 at Steinbrenner. The largest crowd was 28,055 and that’s when the second level was open for selected games late in the season. Overall, 71.75 million fans attended games and that represents an increase for the fourth straight season. The 71-million plus was the highest total since the 2017 season.
