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Rays Release Brendan McKay, Hopeful Of Re-Signing Him To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | November 14, 2022 at 10:20pm CDT

The Rays have released left-hander Brendan McKay, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The former fourth overall pick was outrighted off Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster last week.

McKay has had an unfathomable stretch of injury luck that has sidetracked what looked to be a very promising career. A two-way superstar in college, McKay increasingly focused on pitching as a professional. An excellent strike-thrower, he moved quickly through the minor leagues and reached the majors by 2019. He started 11 of 13 games during his rookie season, showing promising strikeout and walk marks through 49 innings.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to throw a single major league pitch in the three-plus years since then. He missed the shortened 2020 season on account of a shoulder problem that eventually required surgery. The rehab from that procedure kept him out of action until late June 2021. Just a few outings into a minor league rehab stint, McKay suffered a flexor strain in his forearm that again proved to be season-ending. He was then diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and underwent surgery to correct that issue last November.

McKay spent most of 2022 on the injured list recovering from the TOS procedure. He set out on a rehab assignment in mid-July and spent his allotted 30-day window pitching back to Triple-A. The Rays then formally reinstated McKay from the IL but kept him in Durham on an optional assignment. A few days later, he suffered a UCL injury while pitching with the Bulls. Tampa Bay announced in September he’d require Tommy John surgery, an injury that’ll cost him the entire 2023 season.

The Rays successfully ran McKay through waivers last week, and he didn’t have the service time to refuse the outright assignment at that time. Tampa Bay could’ve kept him in the farm system, but the 26-year-old (27 next month) would’ve reached minor league free agency at the end of the 2023 campaign if not added back to the 40-man roster, as he’d have tallied parts of seven years on a minor league roster.

With McKay unable to pitch for the entirety of next year, there’s little incentive for Tampa Bay to keep him in the organization on his current deal. Topkin reports the Rays are hopeful of inking him to a new, multi-year minor league contract — which would extend their window of team control a season without necessitating a 40-man roster spot at the start of the 2023-24 offseason. However, McKay will have an opportunity to explore interest elsewhere around the league if he’d like before making any move.

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Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Brendan McKay

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View Comments (29)
Post a Comment

29 Comments

  1. clrrogers

    3 years ago

    Poor guy. The string of injuries he’s had is hard to believe. Hopefully he’ll fully recover from TJ and finally get to be a consistent contributor on a big league team.

    6
    Reply
  2. ClevelandSteelEngines

    3 years ago

    Picked him up as a free agent in ’19 and I absolutely loved him. I hope he gets a large influx of good luck so I can enjoy watching his pitching.

    Reply
  3. stubby66

    3 years ago

    Wouldn’t mind the Brewers pick him up on a minor league contract. He’ll let him start his two way play up again essentially since the whole team hits like pitchers anyways

    4
    Reply
  4. ruff kuntry

    3 years ago

    Maybe the A’s can snag him like they did with Honeywell.

    Reply
    • Rsox

      3 years ago

      I think McKay and Honeywell were bitten by the same snake

      5
      Reply
  5. fre5hwind

    3 years ago

    Please do! One of my favorite underdog prospect player!!!

    Reply
    • bloodreddawgs

      3 years ago

      4th overall pick an underdog?

      1
      Reply
      • King Floch

        3 years ago

        At this point, after everything he has been through, yeah, I would call him an underdog.

        1
        Reply
      • fre5hwind

        3 years ago

        “One of my favorite” doesn’t mean everyone.

        Reply
  6. CBA_Enjoyer

    3 years ago

    I appreciate the extra analysis on why they chose to release him. I didn’t consider him hitting minor league free agency next year.

    2
    Reply
  7. Jaysfan1981

    3 years ago

    So he gets a 2 year 6 8 10 million contract to rehab for the minimum and see of he’s as good as thought in 2024

    Who’s the team? Can’t see him going back to the Rays on a minors deal

    Reply
    • Anthony Franco

      3 years ago

      He’s not getting anywhere near that kind of money. Every team had a shot to grab him for nothing more than a 40-man roster spot last week. They all passed.

      10
      Reply
  8. showfeet

    3 years ago

    Why not work him as a DH next year once healthy enough to hit? Lot of time to work with the hitting coaches while rehabbing…

    1
    Reply
  9. BaseballisLife

    3 years ago

    He won’t pitch at all in 2023 because of the TJ, so cutting him makes sense.

    3
    Reply
  10. Jarred Kelenic's Beer Can

    3 years ago

    His arm literally exploded. Sad days.

    Reply
  11. Lucky Strike

    3 years ago

    Perfect scrap=heaper for the Twins.

    Reply
  12. Sean 5

    3 years ago

    Positing this on every thread that pops up!!!! This is the problem with baseball. The writers determine everything! ESPN has Alcantara winning cy young in a landslide 13-0. Ok. Here are some FACTS!!!! 17 earned runs to Philly in 6 games…..7 earned runs in 2 games against the dodgers…..10 earned runs against the Mets in 3 games. 5 earned runs against Seattle in 1 game. That’s the cy young? really? He beat non playoff teams up! That’s the cy young! Are you kidding me?????

    Reply
    • Cardsfan21

      3 years ago

      Why are you posting this on every thread that pops up? No one cares, let’s stay on topic here

      8
      Reply
    • Holy Cow!

      3 years ago

      You conveniently left out the Braves, Cardinals, and Padres. I’m calculating about 2.50 ERA against all playoff teams.

      Reply
    • raylando

      3 years ago

      Let’s see….he actually pitched four games against the Mets, with a 3.33 ERA. So not the disaster you think he was.

      He had one poor start against the Dodgers and followed that up with a complete game againsg them: 6 hits, 10 strikeouts, 1 run. So again, not the gas fire against the Dodgers you think he was.

      1
      Reply
    • Didlz

      3 years ago

      why are you guys acknowledging this post

      3
      Reply
      • Holy Cow!

        3 years ago

        Because it’s fun. You get to make up stuff countering the other guy’s argument. Sandy’s ERA is actually 3.12 against playoff teams, but I rounded down to 2.50 to fit my narrative.

        1
        Reply
    • King Floch

      3 years ago

      k keep me posted

      Reply
  13. dirty617water

    3 years ago

    Pirates will fix him

    Reply
    • da5hitta

      3 years ago

      Maybe the 2013-2015 pirates with Ray Searage and a time machine. But not the current team

      Reply
      • tiredolddude

        3 years ago

        But who other than A.J. And Frankie Liriano did Searage teach, really? Cole became a real pitcher when he left town, as did Charlie Morton. Glasnow found control and spin/off speed pitches with the Rays
        I would love seeing McKay come back home, but you’re right. Other than Keller, who made strides, the pitching coach here must profess a love of dead red fastballs and change ups and curves that hang on Main Street Is there any instruction going on at all?

        Reply
  14. Quentin

    3 years ago

    Cubs need to swoop in on him

    Reply
  15. RodBecksBurnerAccount

    3 years ago

    Curious as to why he hasn’t decided to just go back to hitting. Many scouts had him as a better hitter than pitcher, some even projected him as a “9 figure hitter,” meaning he’d eventually sign a deal worth $100+ mill.

    Reply
  16. tigersgm

    3 years ago

    Grab him tigers

    Reply

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