The Rays are set to get a key arm back at just the right moment.
Shane McClanahan is expected to come off the injured list and start Monday against the Orioles, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The left-hander has been sidelined since the end of July with back tightness, and Tampa Bay is counting on him to help steady a rotation that has been missing one of its top starters.
McClanahan’s return comes after a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham, where he threw three innings and 30 pitches in his lone outing. He got through that appearance without any apparent setback, which gave the Rays enough confidence to bring him back for the series finale in Baltimore.
Still, there’s reason to keep expectations measured. Because he’s coming off an injury and only logged 30 pitches in rehab, McClanahan likely won’t be stretched too far in his first start back. Five innings feels like the kind of target Tampa Bay would gladly take if everything goes smoothly.
That would be a welcome lift for a bullpen that has already done plenty of heavy lifting. Joe Boyle, Jesse Scholtens and Steven Matz were used extensively as long relievers over the weekend, so even a short-to-moderate outing from McClanahan would matter.
The Rays arrived in this series riding a nine-game winning streak, but the momentum has flipped fast. Tampa Bay has dropped the first three games against Baltimore and is trying to avoid being swept in the finale.
With the Orioles rolling, the Rays don’t need McClanahan to deliver a masterpiece right away. They just need him to give them solid innings and take some pressure off a taxed relief corps.
In Other News...
Freddy Peraltas Ugly Rays Start May Not Mean What Fans Think
Freddy Peraltas first few outings with the Rays have not looked anything like the club envisioned when it brought him over from the Mets. Through three starts, he carries a 7.53 ERA, and the early reaction has been easy to understand given how rough the beginning was. Still, the context around those appearances matters, because the schedule dropped him into some of the toughest run-scoring environments in baseball right away.
Peraltas first two starts came in places that can make any pitcher look ordinary, and the damage in those games shaped the early numbers in a hurry. He has shown some signs of settling in since then, which leaves the Rays with a more nuanced read on what they have so far: not a clean breakout, but not necessarily a verdict either. [Read more 🡒]
Rays May Have Found A Faster Way To Use Brody Hopkins
Brody Hopkins has started to look a lot different in Triple-A Durham, where the Rays have shifted the pitching prospect into relief and immediately gotten a more explosive version of his arm. In shorter bursts, Hopkins has shown better life on his fastball and a sharper overall profile, which is exactly the kind of development Tampa Bay tends to notice when a starters stuff plays up after moving to the bullpen.
The appeal is obvious for a club that has never been shy about reimagining pitchers if the role fits better than the original plan. Hopkins has had command issues as a starter, but his recent relief work has hinted at a faster path to helping the Rays if the strike-throwing holds up, and his strong stuff metrics suggest this may be more than a one-off experiment. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans Will Feel Strange Watching This Rays Reunion
Bryan Bakers move from Baltimore to Tampa Bay in midsummer set off an odd little reunion on the Rays roster, one that has only become more noticeable as the summer has gone on. What began with a bullpen add has turned into a group of familiar faces in St. Petersburg, with Cedric Mullins, Tyler Wells and Jorge Mateo now sharing a clubhouse that already knew Baker well from his time in the division.
For Orioles fans, it is the kind of roster overlap that can feel a little off in real time, especially with Baltimore still trying to steady itself after a rough stretch. There is always a strange edge to seeing former homegrown pieces and recent contributors land back on the same side, and the Rays have enough of those names now that the connection is impossible to miss. The only real question is how much more of this crossover is coming next. [Read more 🡒]