Drew Rasmussen Faces the Brewers Who Helped Launch His Career in World Series Game 2

“Had the Brewers been playing anyone else in the World Series,” Drew Rasmussen said Friday, “man, I’d be rooting for them.”

Instead, the Tampa Bay right-hander is scheduled to start Game 2 against Milwaukee on Saturday at American Family Field. As Rasmussen explained in MLB.com’s account, he and his wife Stevie could appreciate the coincidence: the club that introduced him to the Majors now stands between his current team and a championship.

His first chance to join Tampa Bay had come in the 2017 Draft. The Rays selected the Oregon State pitcher 31st overall, but an elbow problem revealed during his physical led to a second Tommy John surgery and no agreement. Rasmussen returned to college while his professional career remained on hold.

Milwaukee selected him in the sixth round the following year, 185th overall. His official player biography records his Major League debut on August 19, 2020. For the pitcher who had twice needed elbow reconstruction, the Brewers became the organization with which he reached the big leagues.

That relationship changed on May 21, 2021. The Brewers’ trade announcement sent Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen to Tampa Bay for shortstop Willy Adames and right-hander Trevor Richards. Milwaukee acquired an established major league shortstop, while the Rays received two pitchers whose work to that point had been in relief.

The announcement’s numbers show Rasmussen’s place in that deal. He had made 27 career appearances, all from the bullpen, with a 5.01 ERA. His 2021 Milwaukee line was a 4.24 ERA in 15 appearances with his first major league save. The pitcher arriving in Tampa Bay was still developing his major league role.

A contemporary account of the trade described Rasmussen as a possible future closer because of his fastball and breaking ball. Milwaukee was giving up bullpen potential to address shortstop. His eventual place at the front of a World Series rotation was still ahead of him.

Rasmussen and Feyereisen were called into the manager’s office separately to learn about the move. They could at least take a familiar bullpen routine with them. “At least they sent over our catch partner, too,” Rasmussen said in that report, recalling their daily games of catch.

The separation carried a cost beyond changing uniforms. Rasmussen described the difficulty of building relationships, learning what an organization values and then having to start again after an unexpected trade. His attachment to Milwaukee in October 2026 has roots in that earlier account, long before either club reached this World Series.

Tampa Bay gradually gave him a different job. His official career record shows 10 starts for the Rays in 2021, with a 1.93 ERA in those outings. In 2022, his first full season in the Majors, he made 28 starts and finished with a 2.84 ERA. A former Milwaukee reliever had become a regular starter.

Another elbow injury interrupted that progress. The Rays’ January 2025 contract announcement identifies the operation as an internal brace procedure performed on July 24, 2023. It was his third major elbow surgery, following the two Tommy John operations in college.

His return came on August 7, 2024. He finished that season with 16 appearances, including four starts as an opener, and 28⅔ innings. The Rays’ announcement listed a 2.83 ERA, 35 strikeouts and six walks. After the long recovery, he had established that he could pitch again before rebuilding a starter’s workload.

Tampa Bay then signed him for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, with a club option for 2027. The announced option could reach $20 million if performance escalators were met. That agreement gave the relationship a commitment beyond his initial comeback season as he prepared to return to the rotation.

The next season’s goals were unusually specific. As MLB.com reported when his 2025 season ended, Tampa Bay’s plan capped him at 150 innings if the year went well; Rasmussen wanted to avoid missing a turn. He reached exactly 150 innings in his 31st start on September 25, without skipping an outing.

He finished 10-5 with a 2.76 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and his first All-Star selection. The workload plan had produced both a complete season and effective pitching. Ten starts were scoreless, and he allowed three runs or fewer in 28 of his 31 outings.

Pitching coach Kyle Snyder and manager Kevin Cash pointed to his work ethic in that season-ending account. Their assessment helps explain the continuity between rehabilitation and performance: the work that brought him back also supported a full season once the rotation opportunity returned.

Rasmussen’s official biography traces his approach to his father, Mark, a longtime middle school history and social studies teacher who also coached multiple sports. Drew credits that example with shaping the work habits he relied on during recovery.

His current player record lists a 16-5 regular season in 2026, with a 2.67 ERA, 172 innings and 174 strikeouts across 30 starts. Before Game 2, he had added 21 postseason innings in three starts with a 1.29 ERA. The numbers describe a much larger responsibility than the one Milwaukee traded in 2021.

Game 2 is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT Saturday, with Tampa Bay trying to recover from its 3-2 loss in Game 1.

Rasmussen told MLB.com that he still has connections with Brewers players, coaches, staff and fans. He also expressed gratitude for the home he has found with the Rays. Saturday’s assignment brings both parts of his career to the same ballpark, with his pitching devoted to Tampa Bay’s championship bid.