Rays starter Shane McClanahan departed Thursday's outing in the fourth inning after a visit from the trainer. The club later announced he’d been dealing with mid-back tightness.
It’s unclear whether the Rays anticipate McClanahan missing time. Postgame, he conceded he was “frustrated” to have to leave the game early but expressed hope it wouldn’t be a serious issue, per Bally Sports Sun. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters the southpaw had experienced some minor back discomfort before his previous start as well, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
McClanahan is the only Tampa Bay starter to have taken all 16 turns through the rotation. Last season’s sixth-place Cy Young finisher has continued to excel. He owns a 2.23 ERA across 93 innings. His 26.7% strikeout rate is down a bit relative to last year’s 30.3% clip, but it’s still well above league average. The Rays are already without Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and Josh Fleming and had to navigate the first couple months sans Tyler Glasnow. McClanahan, Glasnow, rookie Taj Bradley and offseason pickup Zach Eflin make for an excellent top four, but the Springs and Rasmussen injuries have put some pressure on the depth arms.
Corner outfielder Luke Raley also finished Thursday’s game with some health concern. He was hit on the right hand in the first inning. While Raley played the remainder of the contest, Topkin tweets that his hand remained sore postgame. Initial x-rays came back negative but he’ll head for further imaging. Raley has somewhat quietly been one of the game’s best hitters this year, mashing at a .275/.351/.587 clip.
Whether he’ll require a stint on the injured list is to be determined. There would seem to be a decent chance he’ll at least be out of Friday night’s lineup. If that’s the case, he’d be joined in sitting out the contest by Wander Franco. Tampa Bay penciled in Taylor Walls at shortstop Thursday, and Cash announced pregame that Franco would be on the bench for Friday’s contest as well.
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