McClanahan’s journey back; sure and measured

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The road back for Tampa Bay lefthander Shane McClanahan is deliberate and calculated. After all, here was a legitimate Cy Young candidate, a significant contributor to a team which constantly won and the cornerstone of a franchise with a celebrated history.

Then, the malady which threatens a career trajectory like a violent wind and menacing hurricane. McClanahan was cruising through an 11-2 season two years ago and a significant candidate for post-season awards. On Aug. 3, forearm tightness was discovered and just over one week later, the Rays and McClanahan announced he would undergo Tommy John surgery.

That effectively put the native of Baltimore off the mound and directly on a protracted rehabilitation process.

McClanahan was not alone.

At the same time, teammates right-handers Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen along with lefty Jeffrey Springs went down with Tommy John surgery. Those three, Springs, Baz and Rasmussen managed a comeback last season, but McClanahan continued his grueling rehab program.

In a deliberate and measured program, McClanahan was kept off the mound and out of sight from a baseball diamond.  That is until this spring. As early as the conclusion of the 2024 season, the Rays announced McClanahan was ready to resume a normal off-season training program and be ready for spring training.

Now, two weeks into the spring, McClanahan appears to be in a good place, and his approach is complete with references to history, careful preparation, and a little experimentation.

“Everybody’s journey is different,” McClanahan said Thursday after his outing against the Phillies. “Those guys might have been a little ahead of me. We always talk about the process, like ’hey, how did you feel at this,’ and kind of work off of each other. This was a good motivation factor and see how those had success. Obviously, I want to be part of that.”

After his initial start of the spring March 1 against the Mets (two innings, no runs, one strike out), McClanahan continued to put up zeros. In his second start against the Phillies, he pitched into the third inning, stopped at 38 pitches and threw 31 strikes. That included a walk to Brandon Marsh and recorded four strikeouts.

Known for reaching 100 miles per hour with an electric fast ball, McClanahan said spring training is the place for creativity and experimentation. Here, he told reporters that the shape of his curve and when to use the pitch figured into the game plan against the Phillies.

That was evident to the first hitter McClanahan faced. Feeding a steady diet of breaking pitches, McClanahan managed to strike out the Phillies shortstop Trey Turner on with those off-speed deliveries. Later in the third, he struck out Turner again with the same assortment of pitches.

“I was just trying to work on stuff and you know how spring training is,” he acknowledged. “You’re throwing pitches that may not normally throw in a game. You’re trying to get the feel. I’ve never done that and (manager Kevin) Cash wanted to try this, and I was hoping that was not a bad pitch. We’ll see how that goes and luckily it was a strike (on the first strike out to Turner).”

Before his injury, McClanahan reached 100 miles per hour with his fastball and said that was not his intention here in spring games. Still, he managed pitches at 97 and 98 to Marsh and that was before issuing his only walk of the outing. Overall, the lefty allowed a two-out single in the first to Alec Bohn and in addition to getting Turner twice on strikes, he also struck out Kyle Schwarber to end the first and left fielder Max Kelper in the second.

“(McClanahan) looked good, very good,” was the observation from Cash. “I was happy he built off his first outing, mixed his pitches well, and dialed up some fast balls when he needed to do that. So, he looked great.”

The game plan going forward is to create a program based in intelligence and acumen. Reaching nearly 40 pitches for his second outing, McClanahan will likely reach 50 and possibly beyond in his next start. This is all in preparation for his Opening Day start, March 28 at Steinbrenner Field, against the Colorado Rockies.

On the diamond … a pair of homers from rookie Brock Jones enabled the Rays to come-from-behind and tie the Phillies at 4-4 in the ninth. Then, Jonny DeLuca knocked in the inning run when he walked with the bases loaded. The win lifted the Rays to a spring mark of 5-6-2 and next, they take on the Minnesota Twins in Port Charlotte on Friday. Righty Shane Baz gets the start and is opposed by right-hander David Festa … Rays’ closer Peter Fairbanks suffered through his lone inning against the Phillies. He walked four in the frame, allowed one run and was taken out by Cash after two-thirds of an inning. “(Fairbanks) struggled a little bit with his command,” the manager acknowledged. We have some time to work through this and know that he will continue to work. You never want to see a guy you rely on and important to the team to go through anything like that. He’ll do what he needs to get done and get ready to go back put there.”

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