Drew Rasmussen’s Return to Rays Is a Terrific Comeback Tale

Drew Rasmussen is back on the mound. He is pitching major league innings little over a year after his third major elbow surgery. That alone is a tremendous accomplishment. But the Tampa Bay Rays right-hander surely has loftier goals.

On July 24, 2023, Rasmussen underwent a hybrid internal brace procedure to repair his ulnar collateral ligament. He rejoined the Rays on August 7, 2024, tossing two scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rasmussen, 29, is already the youngest pitcher to return from a third UCL repair. He is attempting to become the first starting pitcher to return from his third such surgery, although he will, presumably, pitch out of the bullpen for the rest of the 2024 season.

The righty is also hoping to become the first player to return from a third UCL repair and pitch multiple more seasons in Major League Baseball. It’s still early, but so far, Rasmussen is making great progress toward achieving his goals.

Three Elbow Surgeries in Seven Years

Ten years ago, then-18-year-old Rasmussen heard the words every aspiring ballplayer yearns to hear: His name was called in the 2014 MLB draft. The Diamondbacks picked him in the 39th round.

However, he chose to attend college instead. Evidently, Rasmussen believed he could improve his skills and go much higher than the 39th round in a future year.

Then, during his sophomore year at Oregon State, he tore his UCL and needed his first Tommy John surgery.

UCL injuries can be career-threatening, especially at such a young age, but Rasmussen made a successful recovery – so successful that he was selected quite highly in the 2017 draft. The Rays took him with the 31st overall pick.

Yet, Rasmussen bet on himself once more, choosing to go back to school.

Unfortunately, he tore his UCL again after his junior year. He needed another Tommy John procedure. A second UCL injury is even more likely to end a pitcher’s career, but once again, Rasmussen made a healthy return.

The following year, the Brewers selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. This time, Rasmussen signed a contract. He worked his way to the majors and broke out in 2021 after a trade to the Rays. He earned a full-time role in the starting rotation in 2022.

But in 2023, the injury bug caught up to him once again.

Only one pitcher in MLB history, reliever Jonny Venters, has ever returned from a third UCL surgery. Even then, he only pitched for another 15 months before further injuries forced him into an early retirement.

Jason Isringhausen and Jose Rijo are often cited as additional examples. Yet, while both pitchers underwent three elbow surgeries, one of each of their surgeries was to repair a flexor tendon, not a UCL.

Thus, Rasmussen is hoping to make history.

Drew Rasmussen Looks Sharp

Rasmussen has made three appearances for the Rays since his return. He gave up three runs in a single inning in one of those outings, inflating his ERA to 5.40. However, everything else he’s done has been nothing but encouraging.

The righty has six strikeouts (27.3% K%) and zero walks. More than half of the batted balls he has given up (56.3%) have gone on the ground. He has a 2.24 xERA and a 1.96 SIERA.

Perhaps most encouraging of all, Rasmussen is still throwing gas. His fastball is averaging 97.4 mph out of the bullpen. That will drop once he eventually returns to the rotation, but that’s to be expected. Rasmussen’s fastball sat just above 97 mph when he last worked as a reliever in 2021. That’s a good indication that he hasn’t lost any of his oomph.

To that point, the stuff on all of his offerings looks as nasty as ever. The pitch modeling systems PitchingBot and Stuff+ agree that his stuff is well above average on all four of the pitches he has thrown so far this year: a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a cutter, and a sweeper.

He has yet to throw his curveball this season. It’s unclear if that has anything to do with his elbow, or if he is simply reducing his arsenal while he pitches out of the ‘pen.

Regardless, with the way his four primary pitches are working, he certainly doesn’t need any more.

Drew Rasmussen has a long way to go, but you don’t have to watch him pitch for long to realize he still has all the talent he needs to enjoy a long, successful big league career.

Rasmussen’s return to the Rays is an amazing comeback story. And hopefully, it’s only just beginning.