Rays' Brent Honeywell: Not in contention for rotation spot

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Sunday that the team will open the season with a four-man rotation and stick with that setup into May before adding a fifth starter to the mix, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Cash's revelation means that Honeywell will likely report to Triple-A Durham to begin the campaign.

There was some hope that Saturday's trade of Jake Odorizzi to the Twins might create an opening for Honeywell to break camp with the big club, but the team will instead forgo replacing Odorizzi's rotation spot and go with Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Jake Faria and Nathan Eovaldi as their Opening Day starting staff. A spring injury to one of the four aforementioned pitchers could provide renewed hope for Honeywell to get his first look in the majors, but for now, it appears the Rays want to see him get some further refinement in the International League. It wouldn't seem that Honeywell is in need of much more finishing, given that he posted a 3.64 ERA (2.84 FIP) and 152:31 K:BB over 123.2 innings in his first season at Triple-A in 2017.