Next new frontier for Rays at Steinbrenner Field will be night games

TAMPA — The Rays have spent much of the first three games getting used to the impact of playing outdoors at Steinbrenner Field: the changing wind patterns, unpredictable infield clay (which will be replaced next weekend) and challenging glare.

Monday will bring another new experience — playing under the lights. They will face the Pirates at 7:05 in their first night game.

The Rays didn’t have the opportunity to work out under the LED lights before starting the season, but the Yankees play several night games each spring and Major League Baseball has deemed the lights, which were installed in spring 2023, up to its standard.

Still, there is still an acclimation process.

“It’ll kind of have to be a wait-and-see,” Rays starter Drew Rasmussen said.

Veteran infielder Brandon Lowe did some reconnaissance, talking to Aaron Judge and a few other Yankees about what to expect.

“I know a lot of guys who are worried about the lights and stuff like that, and from what I was told and what they kind of led me to believe, it’s going to be fine,” Lowe said.

“I trust their word and what they told me. I know that the lights are a little bit lower, and those big-league pop-ups are going to be a little bit harder to watch the whole way. But those are going to be ‘Hang with ‘em.’ It’s the situation you’ve got.”

Rays centerfielder Jonny DeLuca also is among those curious.

“From video it looks a little dim, but they say it’s MLB standard,” he said. “So, we’re going to trust that and be like, ‘All right.’ The Yankees have obviously played spring training games here in the night and been all right.”

Bat men

Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz on Sunday used bats with the new torpedo-shaped barrels — increased mass where balls are hit most — that are quickly gaining popularity. Tyler Wall, the Rays clubhouse and equipment director, ordered some during spring training in case players wanted to try it.

Caminero said he plans to keep doing so, at least on an occasional basis. “You guys will know when I start using it,” he said via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez.

For starters*, Rasmussen

Following a May 2023 injury that led to his third elbow surgery, Drew Rasmussen rejoined the Rays in August, working effectively as a reliever and two-inning opener.

But he wanted to return to starting pitching.

After numerous consultations and conversations with medical experts and team officials, including ones that led to a contract extension that guaranteed him $8.5 million over the next two years, all agreed on that plan.

Following a healthy and solid spring during which he worked into the fifth inning and the mid-70s pitch-count-wise, Rasmussen will make his official return to the rotation Monday. It will be his first traditional start in a regular season game in 691 days.

“I feel really good with where we’re at,” Rasmussen, 29, said Sunday. “I think we’ve laid a pretty solid foundation up to this point.”

The Rays will be somewhat cautious in their handling of Rasmussen, at least early in the season.

“We’ve been pretty transparent about our thought with Rass and that we’re going to do everything we can this first month, four or five starts, whatever it is, and just monitor his workload,” manager Kevin Cash said.

“I’m not going to say a hard cap at five innings, but it’s going to be somewhere around there, depending on pitches and (innings).”

Miscellany

Reliever Kevin Kelly, who came into the game with a 25 ⅓-inning scoreless streak, allowed a two-run homer in the seventh. … Chiefs backup QB Gardner Minshew was in the stands for the MLB debut of Rays outfielder Jake Mangum, a close childhood friend from Mississippi … The Pirates set their rotation for the upcoming series, with 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes set to work Wednesday’s matinee. … Kicking off NCAA Women’s Final Four week, the Rays had the championship trophy on display and USF coach Jose Fernandez throw out the ceremonial first pitch. … The Rays announced all three games against the Rockies as sellouts with an attendance of 10,046.

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