Tampa Bay Rays Star Pitcher Shane McClanahan Set to Miss Out on the Season
The Tampa Bay Rays are dealing with a major blow to their pitching staff as left-handed starter Shane McClanahan has been sent to the 60-day injured list after suffering a left forearm injury. It's expected that he won't pitch for the rest of the regular season and might require Tommy John surgery. The Rays' clubhouse is understandably down about the news, as this will likely mean McClanahan will also miss the postseason.
Dr. Keith Meister, a renowned orthopedic surgeon in professional sports, will be consulting on the injury to determine if McClanahan needs surgery.
"It's heartbreaking," said teammate Zach Eflin. "You've got to keep going, you've got to move forward."
McClanahan had surgery before he even started his collegiate career with South Florida. He missed his entire freshman season as a result but bounced back and pitched in a combined no-hitter against army in 2018. The Rays drafted him with the 31st overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.
The Rays experienced bad luck with their pitching staff this year, as they also lost lefty starter Jeffrey Springs and right-hander Shane Baz to Tommy John surgery. Not to mention, they also lost righty starter Drew Rasmussen due to elbow internal brace surgery.
In his 21 starts this season, McClanahan put up an impressive 11-2 record, 3.29 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 121 strikeouts. McClanahan started the season on a roll, with an 8-0 record. This helped propel the Rays to become the best team in baseball with a 36-15 record.
However, warning signs started appearing in late June, and the Rays had to benched McClanahan for a couple of games due to a back injury. In his next six starts, McClanahan went 0-1 with 5 no-decisions, and the Rays won only 2 of those games. His ERA ballooned to 2.00, and he allowed 21 earned runs in 25.2 innings, including 5 home runs.
In early August, McClanahan had to come out of a game against the New York Yankees in the fourth inning due to forearm tightness. He went to the 15-day IL after a series of tests and images. After consulting with specialists in Los Angeles, the Rays decided to shut him down for the rest of the regular season.
The current starting rotation of the Rays includes Tyler Glasnow, Zach Eflin, Zack Littell, and Aaron Civale, who they just acquired from the Cleveland Guardians. Eflin urges everyone to focus on their roles: "Everybody in this clubhouse has a job to do, so we can't lose sight of that."
Manager Kevin Cash will rely on a bullpen game as the fifth starter for the rest of the regular season.
The Rays are currently in second place in the American League East, with a 71-49 record but are still in contention for the playoffs. They're -250 odds to win the AL East, and +230 odds to win the division. They're projected to have a 36.9% chance of winning the division according to FanGraphs. If the season ended now, the Rays would clinch the AL's top wild-card spot, 5 games ahead. The defending champion Houston Astros (68-51) and the Toronto Blue Jays (66-54) hold the other two wild card spots.
The Seattle Mariners (63-54) are close but at 1.5 games back. The Boston Red Sox (three games back), New York Yankees (five games back), and LA Angels (6.5 games back) have slim chances. The Angels didn't trade two-way star Shohei Ohtani with the idea of making a playoff push, but they'll have to overcome three teams ahead with just 43 games left to play.
McClanahan's absence puts the Rays' World Series chances in doubt. With odds at +850, they're fourth on the MLB futures board. FanGraphs projects the Rays have a 9.6% chance of winning the World Series, second highest in the AL, and fourth overall. The AL pennant race is fierce, with three front-runners – the Rays, Astros, and Orioles. Each team has a +400 chance of winning the ALCS.
Read also:
- BVB trails 1-0 against Paris, with Füllkrug leading them towards the final.
- Munich Drama: Late Real Penalty Leaves Bayern Shocked
- Lars is capable of leading BVB, according to many.
- Subsequent torrential rainfall leads to 48 fatalities due to partial highway collapse in China.
Source: www.casino.org
