It's been a long time since Cory Rasmus got to play on the same baseball team as his older brother Colby.
"[It was] high school playoffs," the Rays reliever said. "That was 2005 when he graduated, so twelve years now. It's been a while."
The elder Rasmus brother would be the 28th overall selection to the St. Louis Cardinals as an outfielder in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft from Russell County High School in Seale, Alabama. Cory would see himself go in the first round, 38th overall, to the Atlanta Braves as a pitcher a year later, and the two would go their separate ways. Colby made the show first in 2009, but has played for three different teams before signing a one-year deal with the Rays this offseason. Cory didn't make it to the majors until 2013, and has bounced between the big leagues and Triple-A for most of the time since then, so it didn't take a lot of convincing to join his brother in Port Charlotte.
"That makes it extra special," the younger Rasmus said. "I was telling somebody earlier you work hard to get to the big leagues and have the opportunity, and now I get the chance. I played against him a little bit [with the Angels against Houston], so now we're here on the same team. It's a dream come true."
His brother Colby echoed many of those sentiments.
"It's kind of surreal right now," the outfielder remarked. "It's an interesting thing to be able to do. I feel very blessed in that. Being on the other side of the coin and playing against each other, I didn't really enjoy that too much. So being on the same team is a much better feeling. Being able to lean on each other and give each other positive reinforcement, and some of them long trips and long bus rides, it'll be nice to see a familiar face."
Listen to both brothers talk about getting to play together and how their respective springs are going below!