The bad news is the Rays will be without left-handed starter Shane McClanahan for a couple of weeks. The good news is they believe he won’t be out of action longer than that.
Tampa Bay placed McClanahan on the 15-day injured list on Friday, one day after he left his start against the Rangers with left mid-back tightness. The Rays recalled right-handed Alex Cook from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move.
Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said during a Friday radio interview that the hope is McClanahan will miss only two starts.
McClanahan said after Thursday’s win that he has dealt with similar tightness during previous outings this season, but that it usually dissipates as his body gets warm and he gets into the flow of the game. On Thursday, he said this latest issue was “just a little bit more prevalent, and I couldn’t shake it.”
McClanahan, who missed the 2024 and ‘25 seasons due to multiple left arm injuries, has a 3.09 ERA across 99 innings (20 starts) this year.
Neander acknowledged during Friday’s radio interview that the team is interested in adding a starting pitcher prior to Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. The Rays are among the reported suitors for the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal and the Mets’ Freddy Peralta.