John Romano: For the Rays, replacing a Shane McClanahan is what they do best

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 25, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — They never spoke the uncomfortable part out loud.

Whenever asked about having six starting pitchers for a five-man rotation, Tampa BAy Rays officials would simply say things would work themselves out. Maybe they would use a modified six-man rotation early in the season or, more likely, they would have two pitchers throw four innings each on the same day.

In reality, everyone knew an injury was a possibility. Given past history around the game, maybe even a probability.

So, the Rays resisted the urge to explore a trade and, instead, had all six starters lined up to begin the season in the rotation.

All together, now: Phew!

Ace Shane McClanahan will begin the season on the injured list — an obvious blow — but Tampa Bay is not scrambling for Triple-A replacements or spot starters or a last-minute trade.

“We spent a lot of time talking about (the rotation) in the offseason, we spent a lot of time heading into spring training, all throughout spring training and then, three days left, it worked itself out because we have the depth,” manager Kevin Cash said. “It certainly didn’t work itself out (from the standpoint) that we’re going to be short a really good pitcher for whatever time that is.”

To some degree, this is just Major League Baseball in the 21st century. The average team had 55 different players on the active roster last season. Most teams accept the churn-and-burn, but the Rays are a little different. They thrive on it.

For a franchise with less revenues and a lower payroll, it’s one of the ways the Rays can compete against wealthier opponents. The easiest path to offseason huzzahs is to sign a big-name player for mega-bucks. The tougher method is constructing a seamless roster with every eventuality in mind.

The Rays are not comparable to a team like the Yankees if you’re talking about the 10 best players on the roster. But when you look at roster spots Nos. 11-26, or even Nos. 11-40 when you take into account Triple-A players, the Rays can close the gap on bigger spenders.

“Rosters are 26 spots deep. It’s not like the NBA where you can have a star or two and that can take you to the postseason,” baseball operations president Erik Neander said hours before McClanahan’s injury on Saturday. “You cannot give up too much ground on the backside of the roster. You’ve got to keep that floor up in a good position.

“I mean, having stars is really important, but protecting that floor and having the next options up be as qualified as possible to fill in when there’s health issues is a big part of it.”

Here’s another way of looking at it:

There are 126 players with salaries above $13 million this season, according to Spotrac. That should work out to an average of four high-priced stars per team.

Not a single one of those players is in Tampa Bay.

Instead, the Rays incorporate a whole bunch of different ideas to compensate. They collect younger players who do not yet have the service time to command huge salaries. They find players who struggled elsewhere or were coming off injury but still have potential. They have players with specific skills that can be utilized in specific roles. And they reward a handful of their own stars with salaries that are hefty but not payroll-crushing if something goes awry.

Mostly, they make sure they have options if a player does not perform to expectations, for whatever reason. The last player on their 40-man roster is certainly not as talented as Junior Caminero or Ryan Pepiot, but the gap is not as large as some other teams with a handful of mega-stars.

“We can all anticipate and think we have an understanding of how a player is going to perform, but that doesn’t always happen,” said Cash. “You’ve got to have a lot of people, a lot of parts, that can help you cover down starts, poor months, injuries, whatever it is.

“You cannot expect all 26 of your guys are going to play to their potential. That just doesn’t happen.”

The philosophy is reflected in how the Rays divvy up playing time. Instead of having MVP candidates, they look for platoon candidates. Left-handed and right-handed hitters who might struggle with 500 at-bats but are effective if used in certain situations.

Yandy Diaz was the only Tampa Bay hitter in 2024 with at least 500 plate appearances. Every other team had multiple players with that many plate appearances, including some teams with seven fixtures in the everyday lineup.

So, you’ll see Jonathan Aranda and Curtis Mead splitting time at first base. You’ll see Richie Palacios and Jonny DeLuca sharing time in centerfield. You’ll see Jose Caballero playing second base against tough left-handers. You might see Chandler Simpson called up from Triple A. And so on and so on.

“Making sure, over the course of a 162-game season, that the bottom doesn’t fall out on you is critical,” Neander said. “You need the ceiling, too. And we spend a lot of time and effort on that. But having the flexibility to plug holes in the ship to not take on water is really, really important.

“And you need the entire roster to do that.”

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