Tampa Bay ace Shane McClanahan recently went on the injured list with forearm tightness. McClanahan would later be ruled out for the rest of the 2023 season. It was recently announced that McClanahan would be undergoing Tommy John surgery. This makes him the eighth Rays pitcher since 2020 to have to undergo the surgery. He is also the fourth Rays pitcher this season to need major elbow surgery. It’s hard not to think that Tampa Bay is becoming a graveyard for pitchers.
Shane McClanahan Becomes the Latest Ray to Need Tommy John
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is becoming too familiar for anybody who pitches for the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to being ruled out for the rest of the year, Shane McClanahan was having a stellar season. The All-Star pitcher was 11-2 with a 3.29 ERA and was in the running for the AL Cy Young award. McClanahan won’t just miss the rest of this season, but he won’t be pitching in 2024 either. The 2025 season is when we can expect him to toe the rubber for Tampa again. This occurrence is nothing new to the Rays whose pitching staff has been battered by injuries the past few seasons.
Jeffrey Springs Went Down Early
Embed from Getty ImagesBack in April, Jeffrey Springs was another pitcher who looked like he was on his way to an All-Star season. Before being shut down after just three starts, Springs was 2-0 with an ERA of just 0.56. He would later undergo Tommy John surgery ending his season and forcing him to miss part of the following year as well.
Drew Rasmussen Opted for the Internal Brace Procedure
Embed from Getty ImagesDrew Rasmussen was another Tampa Bay pitcher who was off to a hot start as well. He began the season with a record of 4-2 with a 2.62 ERA. On May 12th, Rasmussen was placed on the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain in his forearm. Rasmussen would opt to have an internal brace procedure instead of Tommy John and would miss the rest of this season.
Where Have You Gone Shane Baz
Embed from Getty ImagesBack in 2022, Shane Baz was the top prospect in the Rays organization. Besides being the Rays’ best minor leaguer, he was ranked 12th on MLB’s top 100 prospect list. However, Baz would need to go under elbow surgery in March of that year and would be sidelined until June. After just six starts, Baz would be placed on the injured list again with more elbow issues. Later in September, Baz would undergo Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched at any level of professional baseball since then.
Brendan McKay’s Career Is Forever Altered
Embed from Getty ImagesJust a few weeks after Baz went under the knife, another top-five two-way prospect Brendan McKay had to have Tommy John surgery as well. McKay was released last season by the Rays and has been out of baseball. So far, no team has expressed interest in letting him try to make it back to the big leagues.
Andrew Kittredge Is Just Returning
Embed from Getty ImagesLater on during the 2022 season, after appearing in 17 games, reliever Andrew Kittredge underwent Tommy John surgery in June. He has recently just been activated off the 60-day injured list.
Tyler Glasnow’s Never-Ending Injury Issues
Embed from Getty ImagesBack in 2021, Tyler Glasnow was diagnosed with partial tears in the UCL. Rather than have surgery, Glasnow opted to try to rehab the injury. After an unsuccessful rehab attempt, Glasnow had Tommy John Surgery. Since having the surgery, Glasnow has only been able to start 63 games across six seasons because of various other injuries.
Players Refusing to Be Traded to the Rays
During this season’s trade deadline, Tampa was attempting to acquire Lance Lynn from the Chicago White Sox. At one point, the two teams were reportedly deep into trade discussions. However, Lynn had a ten-team no-trade clause in his contract and one of the teams on the list was the Rays. It’s hard to not wonder if the number of injuries that the Rays pitching staff have suffered was a factor in including them on the list.
Its Been Awhile Since a Pitcher Who Pitched in Tampa Extensively Without Major Injury
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s been over ten years since a pitcher who’s played for the Rays extensively and pitched without any major injury. The last one to accomplish that was James Shields in 2013. In his post-Rays career, Shields would pitch for six more seasons with the Royals, Padres, and White Sox. He would help the Royals make it back to the postseason for the first time since 1985.
Major Injuries Keep Plaguing Rays Pitchers
While the Rays have had a lot of success developing pitchers, the thing they’ve struggled to do is keep them from avoiding major injuries. If the Rays make the postseason, it’ll be the third year in a row that a key pitcher will be missing from their pitching. Pitching is everything in the postseason, anytime a team is missing a key arm their chances of a deep playoff run are negatively impacted. It’s perhaps has been a reason why Tampa has been knocked out of the playoffs early the past two seasons.
Tampa Needs to Reevaluate “The Rays Way”
Embed from Getty ImagesTampa has had a lot of success with starting pitchers that pass through the team, it seems as though those players aren’t healthy for the long term. No team in Major League Baseball has lost the amount of pitchers the Rays have to injuries. It appears every pitcher the Rays bring into the organization, they pitch their arms into the ground. I guess the “Rays way” involves putting pitchers’ arms into the ground as well. It’s also a big reason why the Rays haven’t been able to pop World Series champagne. Unless the Rays really evaluate how they’re coaching their pitchers, then the only banners that will line Tropicana Field are playoff appearances.
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