McClanahan (back) starts rehab assignment

McClanahan averaged a crisp 95.7 mph on his fastball, while topping out at 97.4 mph, during the economical 30-pitch outing. He finished with a pair of strikeouts and retired all nine of the batters he faced. He’ll likely require at least one additional tune-up outing to continue building up his pitch count before returning to Tampa Bay’s rotation later this month. He’s been on the shelf with back tightness since late July.

He will miss at least two starts per POBO Erik Neander. Obviously, don’t go dropping him in any leagues at this point as this is supposedly a short-term issue. McClanahan is 9-6 with a 3.09 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 99 innings after missing all of 2024 and 2025.

He added that the team is “hoping” he only misses two starts and that the club considers it “pretty minor.” McClanahan left Thursday’s start with mid-back tightness after three innings and change with diminished velocity.

That’s a relief compared to an injury to his throwing arm, but it’s still not great news and could portend an injured list stay. More to come on this. McClanahan lasted three innings against the Rangers, allowing one hit and one earned run while striking out three.

It’s unknown where exactly the injury was or how it was suffered, but McClanahan’s fastball velocity dipped notably in the fourth inning, sitting close to 93 as opposed to his average on the year of 95.6 and a peak of 97 that he hit in the first inning. More news to come as the Rays make it available, but this doesn’t look good.

Despite not being his sharpest, McClanahan still turned in a decent outing. His changeup starred and forced eight of his 13 total swings-and-misses as the Guardians’ right-handed hitters consistently flailed at it low and below the zone. Those whiffs didn’t turn into many strikeouts though because McClanahan was much less precise with two strikes. Still, he likely could’ve hung on for six or even seven innings if he didn’t have any workload constraints, but left this game with only 71 pitches. He hasn’t reached 90 pitches in over two months as the Rays try to get him through the regular season fully healthy and with as little fatigue as possible before the playoffs following a two-year layoff. Next up is a matchup against the Rangers at home.

McClanahan gave up five hits, walked three and struck out three. He fell to 8-6 with the loss. Two of the six runs McClanahan allowed were unearned due to a Junior Caminero throwing error in the third inning. He’d completed at least six innings and allowed two runs or less in his last three starts prior to this. McClanahan has a 3.07 ERA and a 3.99 xFIP. He’s lined up to face the Guardians at home next weekend.

The Rays are expected to go with Mason Englert, either as a traditional starter or behind an opener for the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. Ian Seymour will then get the ball on Saturday and Shane McClanahan will start in Friday’s series finale.

McClanahan allowed four hits and didn’t walk anyone. Alongside Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez, he’s one of three Rays starters with at least 80 innings and an ERA under 3. The left-hander hasn’t been quite as dominant as he was before missing two full seasons, but it’s hard to complain about the results. Tampa Bay visits the Red Sox coming out of the All-Star break.

Although he wasn’t dominant in finishing with four strikeouts and seven whiffs, this seems like a good sign that McClanahan’s July will more closely resemble his May (4-0, 1.41 ERA) than his June (0-3, 5.79 ERA). McClanahan walked none for the fourth time this year, leaving him with a 77/28 K/BB through 79 2/3 innings. His next start will come at home against the Yankees.