Tampa Bay Rays Get Back Big Piece From Major Injury For Stretch Run

After missing the entire season while recovering from a serious arm injury, Drew Rasmussen is back for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) leaves the game against the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Tropicana Field in 2023. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

After missing more than a year's worth of action, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen was re-instated from the 60-day injured list on Wednesday afternoon.

The following comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

ANALYSIS
Rasmussen is expected to vie for a spot in the Tampa Bay rotation in 2025, but he'll be operating as a reliever down the stretch of the current season while he makes his return from the internal brace procedure he underwent last July. Though Rasmussen had a pair of Tommy John surgeries on his resume before he underwent his latest elbow operation last summer, he didn't seem to have much trouble regaining velocity or control during his rehab assignment. Over his five appearances at Triple-A Durham, Rasmussen gave up seven runs on 11 hits over 7.1 innings, but his 8:0 K:BB was encouraging.

As per the note above, Rasmussen was throwing heat in his rehab outings. He pumped into the upper-90s on multiple occasions and should give the Rays a dynamic reliever for the rest of the year. If he's back in the rotation in 2025, he will join Shane McClanahan and Taj Bradley, which will make that group very strong once again.

The 29-year-old Rasmussen is 20-10 in his career with a 2.97 ERA. He's struck out 266 batters in 282.0 career innings. He was 4-2 through eight starts with the Rays in 2023 before getting injured and had pitched to a 2.62.

The Rays will take on the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m. ET.

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