PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- When the subject of bullpen sessions arose on Wednesday during Kevin Cash's morning meeting with reporters, his face lit up.
"The one thing that really sticks out is watching Matt Moore right now. It's pretty exciting to see him throwing his sixth, seventh, eighth bullpen and the way it's coming out of his hand," said Cash of the talented lefty, who regained his signature, lights-out stuff in his last four starts last season after struggling for most of the year in his return from Tommy John surgery.
• Spring Training: Schedule | Tickets | More info
And as if the Rays weren't already deep enough in starting pitching -- with a rotation of Chris Archer, Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Erasmo Ramirez and Drew Smyly -- consider this nugget the manager shared about another of his hurlers:
"Matt Andriese has really stuck out. He looks like a big league pitcher," said Cash. "Everything is clean, crisp … the stuff is there, the confidence is there. It's fun to see that, because last year at this time, I don't think anybody would have agreed with that. Where he's at right now? He seems to be in a good spot."
Andriese, who was part of the January 2014 deal that brought Brad Boxberger and Logan Forsythe to the Rays, performed double duty for the club last year, splitting time between Tampa Bay and Triple-A Durham.