ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The left forearm tightness Shane McClanahan felt while on the mound at Yankee Stadium the evening of August 2 was similar to the feeling he had prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery the first time, which wiped out what would have been his freshman season at USF.
“I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but here we are,” he said, while meeting with the media for the first time since undergoing his second Tommy John procedure last month.
The 26-year-old is on the road to recovery, though he is expected to miss all of 2024.
“Ultimately, the next year, year and a half, whatever it may be, I’m going to work my butt off to make sure that when I’m healthy, it’s going to be the same me,” he said.
Read more sports from Tom Layberger.
McClanahan started the all-star game for the American League last season and was off to a fantastic start this year, going 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA through mid-June. He struggled (7.38 ERA) over his final six starts, a stretch that included a stint on the injured due to back tightness. Three medical opinions and a couple of weeks after walking off the mound in Bronx, he had Tommy John surgery once again.
“Obviously, I wish it never had to happen,” he said. “But it is what it is. I was really frustrated when I found out, but I can’t control that. I can’t control if I am going to get injured. I can only control how hard I work, the quality of teammate that I am and the consistency on the field.”
After spending the 2016 season recovering from the initial Tommy John surgery, McClanahan made 29 starts in two seasons with the Bulls. He went 9-8 with a 3.31 ERA and struck out 224 batters in 152 innings. The Rays selected the Baltimore native and Cape Coral High School product in the first round, 31st overall, in the 2018 draft.
“I’ve been here the last eight years and I felt extremely lucky to be able to play for essentially my hometown team,” he said. “It’s one of those things that I need to get back. I will get back. I love this team, I love the city and I am going to work my ass off.”
Read more sports from Tom Layberger.
Mariners visit Trop: The Rays begin a four-game series with Seattle on Thursday night. The Mariners opened September by losing four of their first five games before an 8-4 win at Cincinnati on Wednesday. A scorching August, in which they went 21-6, lifted the Mariners into first place in the American League West. They have since slipped to second and one game behind Houston while holding down the second spot in the wild card chase.
The Rays (85-55), coming off a series in which they took two of three from the Red Sox to open a homestand, have an eight-game lead over Toronto in the wild-card race and are 3.5 games behind (four in the loss column) the Orioles in the AL East. Baltimore is off Thursday before beginning a three-game series at Boston.
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