PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- With a good chunk of their Spring Training roster across the state, the Rays staged an intrasquad game on Monday morning to get Opening Day starter Shane McClanahan and four of their top relievers the work they needed.
Working with catcher Logan Driscoll, McClanahan pitched 4 2/3 strong innings while relievers Manuel Rodr¨ªguez, Hunter Bigge, Mason Montgomery and Pete Fairbanks each pitched a scoreless inning to non-roster catcher Tres Barrera inside the stadium at Charlotte Sports Park.
McClanahan was slated to work four or five innings, depending on his efficiency. When he cruised through the first four frames on only 64 pitches, he went back out for a fifth. Overall, he gave up two hits and two walks while striking out six on 73 pitches.
¡°Very pleased with the outing. The intensity -- sometimes you never know what you¡¯re going to get, but his velocities were right in line with what we¡¯d expect him to be come Opening Day,¡± manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°Really good performances by all of them.¡±
McClanahan said he used the outing against a lineup of Tampa Bay prospects to work on different pitch sequences that he might not feel comfortable testing out in a regular-season game or even a Grapefruit League outing.
He was especially focused on his changeup on Monday, McClanahan said, estimating he threw about as many changeups to left-handed hitters in the instrasquad game as he¡¯s thrown in three Major League seasons (16, according to Statcast -- eight left-on-left changeups in 2022 and eight in ¡®23).
¡°I was trying to do some weird things today with sequencing and get the feel for pitches. Felt good,¡± McClanahan said. ¡°I¡¯m still competing my [butt] off, but it frees me up to kind of work on stuff that I want to work on. I probably threw 15 changeups to lefties today, working on the sequencing and trying to really be aggressive with that, and make that become a pitch that I¡¯m super comfortable throwing.¡±
McClanahan said all his pitches felt good, and he was pleased to work into the fifth inning. He¡¯s scheduled to make one more start this weekend in a big league spring game before taking the mound on March 28 against the Rockies at Steinbrenner Field.
¡°I feel really good,¡± he said. ¡°Felt like I wanted to go five innings a month and a half ago, so I feel ready to go.¡±
Trimming the roster
The Rays reassigned five players to Minor League camp on Monday, including two of their top prospects: first baseman Tre¡¯ Morgan (No. 4) and catcher Dominic Keegan (No. 13). Both players are recovering from injuries, with Morgan working his way back from a sore quad and Keegan still sidelined by right elbow soreness.
Keegan is making progress, but he is expected to begin the year on the injured list due to the injury that limited him to just one appearance this spring. The club is hopeful that Morgan (MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 93 overall prospect) will be ready to start the Minor League season on time after making a strong impression in his first Major League Spring Training.
¡°Everything we heard about Tre¡¯ coming in -- just the competitiveness in the box during the at-bat, the way he¡¯ll adjust with two strikes -- we saw all that,¡± Cash said. ¡°He likes to play. He¡¯s a high-energy player that brings a lot of life to the dugout, and there¡¯s a lot of value to that with being a good player -- and he is.¡±
The Rays also sent pitchers Garrett Acton, Joey Krehbiel and Ben Peoples to Minor League camp. Acton is ready for a healthy season after sitting out last year while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Peoples could be on the fast track after moving into the bullpen this spring.
¡°Peoples made quite the impression, just given the transition from starter to reliever,¡± Cash said.
The latest round of cuts left 52 players on the Rays¡¯ Spring Training roster.
Around the horn
? With Cash at Charlotte Sports Park for the Rays¡¯ workout on Monday morning, bench coach Rodney Linares managed the Rays¡¯ game against the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.
? Starter Ryan Pepiot will pitch in a Minor League game on Tuesday, an off-day for the rest of the team, with plans to work into the sixth inning. Starter Zack Littell is scheduled to face the Pirates on Wednesday at Charlotte Sports Park, followed by Fairbanks, Montgomery, Rodr¨ªguez and non-roster right-hander Jonathan Hern¨¢ndez.
? Outfielder Homer Bush Jr., the Rays¡¯ No. 17 prospect, continued to show his skills in the intrasquad game. After flashing his elite speed in the Rays¡¯ Spring Breakout game, Bush laced a run-scoring single to center off McClanahan, stole second and reached third on an error.