Rays Place Shane McClanahan On IL With Forearm Tightness

The Rays announced that left-hander Shane McClanahan has been placed on the 15-day injured list with left forearm tightness. Right-hander Alex Cook has been recalled as the corresponding move. Thus far, the Rays have not provided many details about the severity of the injury. For what it’s worth, McClanahan tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that his initial sense is that the issue is not serious. Regardless, it’s a notable development when considering McClanahan’s importance to the club, his injury history and the timing of his IL placement. McClanahan emerged as Tampa’s ace a few years ago. From 2021 to 2023, he posted a 3.02 earned run average over 74 starts. But from there, arm troubles set him back. In 2023, forearm tightness sent him to the IL in August and he underwent Tommy John surgery. He missed the remainder of that season and all of 2024. It was once hoped that he could return in 2025 but nerve issues in his throwing arm stalled his progress. He required another surgery to address that nerve issue in August of last year. He missed the entirety of that season as well. Here in 2026, McClanahan has been back on the mound and back in good form. He has made 24 starts with a 3.36 ERA. His 21.8% strikeout rate is down from the 28% clip he had in previous seasons but his 8% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate are both good figures. He missed a couple of weeks in August due to back tightness but his arm has been healthy, until now. In the most immediate sense, McClanahan’s absence isn’t a devastating blow. Griffin Jax just returned from a stint on the IL, giving Tampa six starters. Subtracting McClanahan still leaves them with Jax, Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta, Ian Seymour and Nick Martinez. They are basically guaranteed a playoff spot at this point, since they have the best record in the American League. But there are other potential ramifications. Though the Rays are atop the A.L., the Yankees are only three games behind them. If the Yanks can catch the Rays and take the division, the Rays would settle for a wild card spot, which would mean they would not get a bye through the first round of the playoffs. Then there’s also the playoffs themselves. If McClanahan isn’t healthy enough to rejoin the rotation in October, that would deprive the club of a potential playoff starter. Rasmussen projects as the clear #1 guy in a playoff series. After that, there are questions with everyone. Peralta has a good track record but is having his worst season since he became an established starter. Jax has mostly been a reliever in his career. He is getting stretched out this year and putting up good numbers but just returned from an IL stint for elbow discomfort. Martinez has a good ERA but is working around a tiny 14.7% strikeout rate. Seymour has good strikeout numbers but is struggling with the long ball. Ideally, McClanahan will be back in the mix shortly. Based on his comments, perhaps he can return fairly quickly, maybe even before the regular season is done. If the Rays get a first-round bye, that would give him some more time. But based on his history, it’s fair to wonder about this issue lingering for a few weeks and impacting the club in September and October. Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images