Top 3 Rays' starting pitching options heading into 2025

While the Tampa Bay Rays are coming off of a down year in terms of their offensive production, their pitching was still, as usual, top-notch.

Going into 2025, they'll have some tough decisions to make as they try to figure out who to keep in the rotation, who to send down, or who to send to the bullpen.

They're also the Rays after all and some of these guys will be dealt because that's just the Rays way, so it shall be interesting to see how a player's contract status will play into the thought process behind keeping or trading any of these talented starters. Without further ado, here are the first 3 names the Rays could look to for internal starting pitching options in 2025.

Ryan Pepiot

The good news for both Pepiot and the Rays is that the former Dodger had an outstanding 2024 season. He posted nearly a 2 fWAR despite missing a month on the IL with a knee infection from a spider bite.

His whiff rate of 29.9% was outstanding, and he accomplished this by having some of the best stuff in baseball with his fastball, changeup, and slider mix. Each of those three pitches rated as well above average across the league.

The usage of each pitch didn't change much from his time in LA as he was mostly given more of an opportunity and managed to stay (mostly) healthy. Of course, the Rays also certainly sprinkled some of their magic player development dust on him, leading to his 93 ERA- and 99 FIP-, both above average totals. Each metric is set so that being below 100 is better, unlike wRC+ or OPS+.

Pepiot still has one more year before he becomes arbitration-eligible, so the Rays would likely have to be blown away by a trade offer to deal the 27-year-old. He's a safe bet for the 2025 rotation.

Jeffrey Springs

As one of the more expensive players on the Rays, Springs is due to make $7.5 million in 2025. The veteran lefty could be a potential trade candidate for the always "cash-strapped" Rays.

However, he's getting that money for quite good reason as Springs is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. Assuming he comes into 2025 healthy (all signs are pointing to that being the case), he could be poised to have a solid season.

Springs' 35.4% chase rate was one of the best in baseball in 2022, the last full season the lefty threw. He also posted a 3.1 fWAR for that year across 25 starts.

Whether he can withstand a full season's workload is still a big question, as his 2022 season was the highest inning total he's posted in a single season throughout his career totaling 135.1 innings.

While Springs' status is a bit more in question than Pepiot's or some of the other options on this list, he's still an interesting candidate that could be a potential ace for the 2025 season.

Shane McClanahan

The former USF Bull is due to make $3.6 million next season as he enters the final year of a pre-arbitration extension he signed in 2024.

McClanahan is coming off of Tommy John surgery, but when he was healthy through his first three seasons, he was one of the nastiest lefty starters in baseball. The hard-throwing hurler posted consistent high whiff and chase rates through the years by throwing a fastball that sits in the high 90s and a phenomenal slider/curveball mix.

While McClanahan has a bit more of a solid base in terms of innings compared to Springs, his injury history is still a major question mark with the lefty going through his second Tommy John surgery in August 2023.

Hopefully McClanahan can bounce back from the major injury and continue to be the All-Star he's perfectly capable of being, with the even bigger hope of performing well in a Rays uniform.