Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan was moved to the 60-day injured list on Saturday because of an injury to his elbow/forearm area, and the move means that he won't pitch again during the current regular season. He had originally been placed on the 15-day IL on Aug. 4. The move to the 60-day means he won't be eligible to return until early October. In a corresponding move, lefty Josh Fleming was reinstated from the 60-day IL.
Manager Kevin Cash told reporters on Tuesday that McClanahan is "highly unlikely" to pitch at all during the remainder of the 2023 season. It remains possible that McClanahan could return at some point during the playoffs, assuming the Rays make it, but Cash's recent comments make that seem unlikely. McClanahan has been been seeing multiple doctors and gathering extra opinions before a determination is made on whether the injury will require surgery. The surgery options at this point are a loose body removal, a flexor tendon procedure and Tommy John surgery (via Tricia Whitaker).
If he does undergo Tommy John surgery, the recovery timetable is at least 12 months, and teams in recent times have given their pitchers closer to 14 months. As such, it's possible McClanahan would not pitch in 2024, though, to reiterate, the Rays and McClanahan are trying to avoid this.
McClanahan, 26, was placed on the injured list last week with forearm tightness. He subsequently met with Dr. Neal Elattrache on Monday to determine what, precisely, was wrong with his arm. He has met with multiple doctors in the ensuing days, seemingly for more options.
Over his first 21 starts this season, McClanahan had amassed a 3.29 ERA (125 ERA+) and a 2.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His contributions had been worth an estimated 2.4 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference. He had also made his second career All-Star Game appearance.
McClanahan joins a growing list of injured Rays starters. Tampa Bay is also without Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs, and Josh Fleming. The Rays are now down to a rotation that includes Tyler Glasnow, Zach Eflin, recent acquisition Aaron Civale, and Zack Littell. Keep in mind, Glasnow was a late scratch from his scheduled start on Sunday due to back spasms, too.
It's unclear how the Rays intend to fill the void left behind by McClanahan. One option would be to promote youngster Taj Bradley again. The only other starter the Rays have on their 40-player roster in the upper minors is Cooper Criswell.
The trade deadline has, of course, already passed but the Rays could in theory still swing a deal for a player who is not on a 40-player roster and who has not spent time in the majors this season. Those kinds of trades are rare, but one such instance occurred last week, when the Cleveland Guardians obtained outfielder Kole Calhoun from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations.
