In the AL East, most of the attention has been focused on the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, due in part to their offseason spending sprees. With that, both are considered the favorites to win the division. But you can never count out the Tampa Bay Rays, even after a down 2024 season.
But with Opening Day a matter of days away, the Rays suffered a massive injury scare.
During the Rays' spring training game against the Red Sox on Saturday, starting pitcher Shane McClanahan threw a pitch to Boston's Marcelo Mayer and he immediately signaled to the Rays dugout while pointing to his left arm. The pain McClanahan was dealing with was evident, given his left arm immediately slumped after throwing the pitch.
McClanahan exited the game with Rays head trainer Joe Benge.
#Rays ace Shane McClanahan just left this game accompanied by head trainer Joe Benge. Here’s video of his final pitch, showing some serious discomfort. He immediately signaled toward the dugout. Will update when I know more. pic.twitter.com/dnhY8KPBTV
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) March 22, 2025
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Shane McClanahan exits Rays spring training game with apparent left arm injury
The Rays announced that McClanahan exited the game with left triceps tightness and that he will undergo imaging over the next couple of days to determine the severity, per MLB.com's Dawn Klemish.
This was brutal timing for McClanahan who is making his way back from Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. McClanahan underwent the procedure back in August of 2023, and as a result, missed the entirety of the 2024 season.
McClanahan pitched in his first game on March 1 against the New York Mets, where he recorded one strikeout and allowed three hits and zero earned runs in 2.0 innings. Then, on March 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies, McClanahan posted four strikeouts and one walk, while allowing one hit, in 2.2 innings of work. Now, after getting through 2.1 innings on Saturday, McClahanan deals with an injury to his left triceps.
We should get more clarity on McClanahan's status for the start of the 2024 season in the coming days.