Whitley is expected to battle Matt Andriese and Jose De Leon for the fifth spot in the rotation in spring training, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 27-year-old righty made a relatively triumphant late-season major league return from Tommy John surgery in 2016, generating a 2.51 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB across 14.1 innings in five appearances. Whitley's longest stint while with the big league club was four innings, which came on the last day of the season against the Rangers, but he also logged a trio of six-inning appearances during his rehab stint in the minors earlier in the campaign. While De Leon is expected to head to Triple-A Durham to start the season, Andriese is generally seen as the favorite for the job heading into spring training. Naturally, Whitley could give manager Kevin Cash something to think about with a successful exhibition slate, rendering the fifth starter battle one of the more intriguing to watch in Rays camp.