The Rays were dealt a frustrating blow this evening, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that southpaw Shane McClanahan has paused his throwing progression and is seeking additional medical opinions on the nerve issue in his triceps that’s kept him sidelined since Spring Training. The decision came after McClanahan was “not feeling 100%” during his first full-distance bullpen session. Manager Kevin Cash described the situation to reporters (including Topkin) as McClanahan being “kind of in shutdown mode.”
It’s tough news for Rays fans, as the talented left-hander was eyeing a return in late July as recently as last week. McClanahan hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and the aforementioned nerve issue, but emerged as one of baseball’s most talented young starters during his three seasons in the league from 2021-23. He sports a career 3.02 ERA and 3.36 FIP across 404 2/3 innings of work. His resume also includes a fantastic 28.0% career strikeout rate and a 46.8% ground ball rate for his career.
Not being able to lean on McClanahan’s incredible talent at the top of the rotation last year is a major part of why the Rays stumbled to an 80-82 record and missed the postseason. Things are going better this year, as Tampa’s 36-31 record puts them in the second of the AL’s three Wild Card spots, just five games back of the Yankees for the AL East lead. The contributions of young bats like Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero have been key to the club’s success this year, and while Drew Rasmussen has done an admirable job as the team’s ace this year the Rays were surely counting on the return of McClanahan to help lift them down the stretch.
Outside of Rasmussen and a decent mid-rotation showing from Ryan Pepiot, the Rays haven’t gotten the best results from their rotation this year. Taj Bradley and Shane Baz have both been below-average pitchers this season, while Zack Littell has posted average results with shaky peripherals. A perennially changing but always talented cast of characters led by Pete Fairbanks in the bullpen has been excellent as always, but a strong bullpen can only do so much to prop up a rotation that lands in the bottom ten in baseball with a lackluster 4.35 FIP. It’s at least possible that McClanahan’s search for additional opinions will confirm that he’s ready to resume ramping up and this will be only a minor setback in his rehab, but for a pitcher who was already not guaranteed to return before August there’s real reason for concern that he could run out of time to get back before the end of the regular season in late September.
Should the Rays manage to keep the good times rolling and enter July as trade deadline buyers, the news regarding McClanahan seems likely to further amplify their need for rotation help. Tampa offloaded veteran rotation pieces Aaron Civale and Zach Eflin at last summer’s deadline, but adding a similar mid-rotation veteran to this pitching staff would go a long way to bolstering the rotation. Eflin himself could be on the market once again depending on how the Orioles decide to approach trade season in the midst of a nightmare year, and other pieces who could at least theoretically move this summer include players like Andrew Heaney, Tyler Mahle, Walker Buehler, and Zac Gallen although many of those players play for teams on the fence between buying and selling this summer.
Civale is available too no doubt
ROFL…
Miles Mikolas is never mentioned as a trade candidate, but I think teams would have interest if the Cardinals ate most of the salary. And that’s exactly what I think the Cardinals should do. Trading Mikolas would finally open up a rotation spot for Michael McGreevy. The Cardinals have nothing to gain by sticking with Mikolas. He has been decent for the most part, but it’s reasonable to believe that McGreevy could be at least as good. Even if the Cardinals only save a couple million bucks and get a teenage lotto ticket in return, it’s better than getting nothing.
The Cardinals often mention the lack of starting depth in Memphis as a reason they can’t give McGreevy a more extended look in the majors. There are always waiver wire options available to fill out the AAA rotation. They just need to stop worrying about what kind of message trading a veteran would send to the fanbase and have some faith that most of us are intelligent enough to understand that moving Mikolas to make room for McGreevy is a step forward, not a sign of surrender.
Also, it would be interesting to see what the Rays could get out of Mikolas. He is a Florida native who would likely be open to staying in Tampa after this season if the Rays can find a way to make use of whatever he has left.
LOL… I appreciate the second post. I wasn’t sure why you were talking about the Cardinals here.
Rays aren’t going to trade for Mikolas. They are relatively content with their current rotation and have J.Boyle and I.Seymour in AAA. Boyle in particular is ready for the Show and has the stuff to dominate.
The article mentioned starters who could be available if the Rays decide to add. I was just saying that Mikolas could and should be added to the list.
I would expect the Rays to fill their rotation from within as well. I just wanted to throw another name in the ring just in case though.
Would Mo be making the trade or Chaim? If the Rays kick the tires, it’ll probably be young prospects, that’s more up Chaim’s alley, no?
my guess is by the deadline Mo has zero power.
“A perennially changing but always talented cast of characters led by Pete Fairbanks in the bullpen has been excellent as always, but a strong bullpen can only do so much to prop up a rotation that lands in the bottom ten in baseball with a lackluster 4.35 FIP..”
MLBTR – As a Rays fan who has watched almost every game this year, I would say this is a false statement. By some measures I suppose you could say the Rays’ Pen has been good (ERA/xFIP), but other measures tell a very different story. The Rays Pen ranks #19 this year in fWAR, #15 in FIP, and #15 in blown saves. I can’t find a stat that tracks inherited runners allowed to score, but I imagine the Rays are near the bottom of the league there. The most damning stat of all is that the Rays’ Pen ranks #29 in IP, despite the SP being a little shaky, which I suspect is because the RFO has zero trust in their ability to get the job done (for good reason), The #1 need for the Rays this year if they’re serious about the post-season is improving the Pen and that will take 4-5 new faces. The Pen is really that bad.
I was checking out pitching prospect Keyshawn Askew. He was acquired in the Brooks Raley trade a couple of years ago. He’s having a rough 2025 in AA. He is not an option for the Rays any time soon, apparently.
Paul Gervase is pitching pretty good in AAA. He was also acquired from the Mets (Tyler Zuber trade).
Yeah, The Rays pen has been as disappointing as Baz and Bradley.
Why trade for a veteran SP when they have Boyle and Seymour tearing up AAA? What they need is a right handed bat that can hit left handed pitching.
mlb better with there injured stars not injured