Projecting the Rays starting rotation for 2025 after Jeffrey Springs deal

If the Rays can brag about any strength heading into the 2025 campaign, it's their impressive pitching depth. Even after a disappointing 2024 season, the Rays still surprisingly ranked in the top-10 in all of baseball in ERA with a respectable 3.78 mark. Even more astonishing, Tampa Bay pitchers had the second best ERA in the entire sport for the last two months of the season, behind only the underrated Detroit Tigers.

Therefore, pitching is clearly not a major concern towards the Rays struggles. However, after the trade that saw Jeffrey Springs leave for the A's, the starting rotation will look a little bit different come Spring Training. Here's a glance at a potential Rays starting rotation as the roster stands today.

There's no doubt that left-handed flamethrower, Shane McClanahan will be the Rays most probable Opening Day starter this year. Despite his Tommy John surgery that left him sidelined for the entirety of the 2024 season, the former first round pick is still the most reliable option. He was able to prove himself substantially in 2022 and 2023, earning back-to-back All-Star nominations and even receiving Cy Young votes during his 2022 campaign, in which he produced a 4.2 WAR.

The upper-90's fastball paired with a devastating curveball makes McClanahan a very difficult at-bat for opposing hitters. If the Baltimore native can stay healthy throughout the season, then the rotation will be in good hands with this ace at the forefront.

The remaining members of the Rays rotation are relatively interchangeable and will be set in any particular order based on factors such as health, availability and Spring Training performance. Nonetheless, we decided to slot right-hander, Ryan Pepiot in the second spot due to his great consistency last season.

The former Dodger finished with an even 8-8 record and a 3.60 ERA in 2024. His numbers were very similar to fellow righty, Zack Littell, but with the likelihood that Littell will get traded this offseason, we thought Pepiot was the most likely candidate.

Also, 24-year old hurler impressed down the stretch as he recorded a 3.55 ERA in six September starts. These numbers showed a ton of endurance and tenacity from the young starting pitcher.

Placed at #3 in the starting rotation, we have rising star, Taj Bradley. This 23-year old has the potential to be an ace in any organization, but he struggles with his consistency on the mound, particularly in his command.

Nevertheless, the LA native was awarded Pitcher of the Month honors for his July performance last season. Bradley completed that month with a 1.45 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 31 innings of work. If he can maintain that level of play for the majority of the season, then the sky is the limit for this starter.

Newly acquired, Joe Boyle is the next starter in this projected rotation. The former Oakland Athletic might actually have one of the highest ceilings of all the options on this staff. With a fastball that touches triple digits and a nasty slider that drops 10 mph, Boyle has excellent potential for the Rays to work with. Especially with the addition of the Rays coaching staff, the Notre Dame product will be a fun project to watch unfold throughout the year.

To close out this deep group of hurlers is former first round pick, Shane Baz. Rays fans have been waiting patiently for Baz's recovery and for him to finally live up to his elite potential. We believe that 2024 was just a glimpse of how good the 25-year old can be. He was able to record a 3.06 ERA over 79 innings last year. With the combination of a healthy season and a full workload, we could witness the best of Shane Baz, which would make this rotation one of the most talented in the league.