Drew Rasmussen News: Sharp in first spring outing

Published on February 23, 2026

Rasmussen allowed one hit in two scoreless innings during Monday's Grapefruit League game against Boston. He struck out three.

Rasmussen was very sharp in his first appearance of the spring, tossing 16 of his 23 pitches for strikes. Tampa Bay has already announced that Rasmussen is tabbed to start Opening Day, and the hope this season is that the Rays won't scale back his workload the way they did during the second half of last year. The right-hander should also benefit from the team moving back to pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field in 2026.