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The Rays suffered a serious damage scare this afternoon when southpaw Shane McClanahan exited his begin within the third inning attributable to what the Rays later introduced as triceps tightness. John Romano of the Tampa Bay Instances relays that the problem will not be considered associated to his current elbow surgical procedure and that the lefty will bear imaging on Sunday to find out the severity of the problem.
It’s a regarding scenario for any pitcher, however a severe damage can be significantly devastating for McClanahan provided that he missed the ultimate two months of the 2023 marketing campaign and the whole lot of the 2024 season whereas rehabbing his aforementioned Tommy John surgical procedure. When wholesome, the quickly to be 28-year-old hurler is on the shortlist for one of the best younger arms within the sport, with a profession 3.02 ERA (130 ERA+) and three.36 FIP in 404 2/3 innings of labor since he made his massive league debut again in 2022. The southpaw’s profession 28% strikeout fee and seven.1% stroll fee additional solidify him as a transparent top-of-the-rotation arm, and the Rays presently have him poised to function the ace of a loaded rotation that additionally options arms like Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen.
These plans seem to have now been scuttled, nevertheless, relying on what’s subsequent for McClanahan. The severity of the problem and a possible timetable for his return gained’t be utterly clear till McClanahan’s exams come again. Even so, it ought to shock nobody if the Rays determine to proceed cautiously with their prized left-hander coming off of surgical procedure. Even when the problem proves to be comparatively insignificant, it could be comprehensible if the membership determined to play it secure and place McClanahan on the injured listing to open the season. They’re fairly nicely outfitted to take action in the event that they select, with Rasmussen, Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Zack Littell, and Shane Baz all wholesome and able to contribute to the rotation. Past that quintet, the membership additionally has depth choices akin to Joe Boyle and Joe Rock within the fold in addition to non-roster veteran Connor Seabold.
Even with that depth in place to deal with an absence from McClanahan, a major damage can be a intestine punch for a Rays membership that can already have to exceed expectations to compete in an AL East division that figures to be dominated by the Orioles, Yankees, and Purple Sox this yr after massive offseasons for all three golf equipment. Comparatively, the Rays’ offseason was considerably modest as they added solely Ha-Seong Kim and Danny Jansen to the fold whereas delivery out Jeffrey Springs in a deal that introduced again Boyle. Sturdy because the membership’s rotation appears to be like on paper, the Rays determine to lean on it closely this yr after dropping each Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena from the lineup finally yr’s commerce deadline, leaving further weight on the shoulders of Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe as the one established veterans left in an in any other case younger and unproven lineup.
If the damage proves severe sufficient that the Rays want to think about including from exterior the group to deepen their rotation combine, a handful of viable choices akin to Lance Lynn and Spencer Turnbull stay accessible in free company. With that being mentioned, any massive league signings may very well be pushing it for the perennially low-budget Rays they usually may as a substitute choose to attend and see if a non-roster invitee like Chris Flexen or Ross Stripling returns to the open market after opting out of a minor league deal.
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