TAMPA, Fla. ¨C For the Rays, Sunday brought good news for ace left-hander Shane McClanahan.
McClanahan will miss his scheduled Opening Day start -- with Ryan Pepiot now starting Friday against the Rockies -- and begin the season on the injured list. McClanahan departed Saturday¡¯s Grapefruit League game with what the Rays described as left triceps tightness, but after doctors¡¯ examination and imaging, Rays manager Kevin Cash said a more specific diagnosis was ¡°nerve irritation.¡¯¡¯
¡°Probably the best news we could have heard,¡¯¡¯ Cash said following Sunday¡¯s 3-3 tie against the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field. ¡°We haven¡¯t put a timeframe on it. I¡¯m going to talk to Mac and see how it feels. We¡¯ve got to just let it [triceps] calm down. Obviously, he aggravated it enough to come out and need some extra treatment. But I don¡¯t think we have a timeframe quite yet.¡¯¡¯
McClanahan underwent Tommy John surgery on Aug. 21, 2023, and missed all of the 2024 season, so it was a jarring sight for the pitcher to leave Saturday¡¯s game. Cash, though, said he remained optimistic.
¡°When anybody walks off the mound, it¡¯s very easy for our minds to wander to the worst-case scenario,¡¯¡¯ Cash said. ¡°I was actually confident [Saturday], it being a tricep, where he talked about it like a strain, something you can manage and treat. I didn¡¯t go right to surgery [mentally] for whatever reason. For the doctors to look at it and get the imaging, I mean, we¡¯re very fortunate.¡¯¡¯
Before learning the results of McClanahan¡¯s imaging, Cash said he shared the pitcher¡¯s frustration.
¡°He was like, ¡®I feel like I¡¯ve done everything I possibly could to get myself ready to pitch, then this happens,¡¯¡± Cash said Sunday morning. ¡°I think the message from all of us is, yes, we agree with you. But we have seen that this is what takes place with some of these pitcher injuries and arm injuries. It¡¯s not for a lack of rehab or a lack of effort. Coming back from his previous injury and being prepared to pitch, he did everything he needed to do.¡¯¡¯