PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Shane McClanahan was in the car with Drew Rasmussen the other day, leaving Charlotte Sports Park and heading home, when the left-hander was hit with a rush of appreciation for the wonders of a normal day of Spring Training.
Playing catch on a back field. Hanging out with teammates inside the clubhouse. Working out. Getting ready for the season. It all felt special.
“There’s a lot of positivity,” Rasmussen said. “He's a kid at camp right now, right?”
And who could blame McClanahan for that? After missing the past two seasons due to injuries -- first Tommy John surgery in August 2023, then a freak nerve issue in his left triceps in his final spring start last March -- the Rays’ two-time All-Star starter is thrilled to be back.
“This entire process has tested me mentally. It's tested me physically, emotionally,” McClanahan said Thursday morning. “I'm glad to kind of turn that corner and have that end goal, that finish line in sight.”
McClanahan has already thrown about a dozen bullpen sessions, and while he will be built up perhaps a little slower than the rest of Tampa Bay’s starters, he is preparing to begin the season in the Rays’ rotation. That, too, will bring a welcome sense of normalcy after a trying time on and off the field.
“I learned how important this game is, and to be honest with you, too, I learned how to find happiness in everyday life,” he said. “That's one thing I'm pretty proud of was I kind of got rid of that identity [being], you know, 'I'm a baseball player. That's all I am. That's all I do.' Really challenging for two years to not have that, so I told myself, 'You can either sit here, be pissy and hate your life, or you can find the positive each day.'
“It's kind of what my dad would want, so I'm going to try to make him proud.”
McClanahan became emotional after invoking his father, James “Clancy” McClanahan, who passed away last month. In a touching Instagram post honoring his life and legacy, McClanahan wrote, “You always told me how you can’t wait to see me back on the mound doing what I love, I’m sorry it took so long dad. Even though you won’t be in the stands I know I’ll still have you there, always.”
Time has brought growth and gratitude. McClanahan described himself as “maybe a little bit more professional, a little bit more emotionally put together” in the aftermath of all he’s been through, and his changed perspective was obvious as he spoke for about five minutes in front of his locker before the Rays’ first official workout of the spring.
He expressed his appreciation for “the little things” in baseball and his recognition of “how special this atmosphere is.” He may have noticed it before, when he was one of the best young starters in baseball, but he felt it more when it was taken away from him.
The waiting was frustrating. The uncertainty might have been worse. Although there is an established recovery protocol for something like Tommy John surgery, nerve injuries are, as McClanahan put it, “weird.”
They initially held out some hope that he might miss only a few weeks. He wound up sitting out all season, and there was a time when even daily life was a challenge. He said he lost feeling in the fingers on his left hand and couldn’t move them for weeks afterward. It took about a month and a half, he said, for him to be able to move his middle finger.
After a few Minor League rehab appearances last July, he underwent surgery in August to address the nerve injury. That led to a relatively normal offseason, in terms of his pitching preparation. He was even able to crack a deadpan joke about how far he’s come since late last March.
“Throwing before surgery, it's weird to try to grip a baseball. You can't really feel it. So I have a really, really good appreciation now for knowing where the ball is going,” he said. “I'm sure my catchers do, too.”
Of course, the Rays will continue to be cautious with McClanahan. The 28-year-old last pitched in a Major League game on Aug. 2, 2023. They will manage his workload and his expectations, not ask him to pitch 180 innings at the elite level he quickly reached before that.
He’s not scheduled to face hitters until the Rays’ spring schedule begins, whereas Rasmussen did it for the second time on Thursday. Pitching coach Kyle Snyder said the goal is to have McClanahan built up to handle five innings and 75-80 pitches by Opening Day. They will “monitor” his innings in the early going, manager Kevin Cash said.
Still, they like what they’ve seen -- and heard -- so far.