{"id":211669,"date":"2026-03-30T13:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/211669\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T13:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:47:23","slug":"mcclanahan-makes-comeback-with-rays-fort-myers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/211669\/","title":{"rendered":"McClanahan makes comeback with Rays – FORT MYERS"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Cape Coral High School graduate has recovered from Tommy John surgery, nerve damage <\/p>\n

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan threw to a 2.08 ERA and 1.00 in spring training after missing all of 2024 and 2025 due to Tommy John surgery and surgery for nerve damage in his triceps. The 2015 Cape Coral High School graduate struck out four in his final spring tuneup Friday against the Boston Red Sox. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan, a 2015 Cape Coral High School graduate and two-time American League All-Star, has made a stellar comeback in spring training after missing two seasons due to injuries. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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Shane McClanahan threw five scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox on Friday in a spring training game in Port Charlotte. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan, a graduate of Cape Coral High School, hugs his mother Lisa after his last spring training start of the season on Friday in Port Charlotte. Shane’s father James (Clancy) died in January. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan signs autographs for young fans after Friday’s game in Port Charlotte. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan, a graduate of Cape Coral High School, with his family after Friday’s spring training game in Port Charlotte. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan, a 2015 Cape Coral High School graduate, signs autographs for young fans after Friday’s spring training game in Port Charlotte. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n

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A year ago, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher and Cape Coral High School graduate Shane McClanahan couldn\u2019t feel his hand. The two-time American League All-Star had recovered from Tommy John surgery, which kept him out of baseball for the 2024 season. Pitching in his final spring training last year against the Boston Red Sox, a sudden pain led him to abruptly exit a game.<\/p>\n

Diagnosed with nerve damage in his triceps, McClanahan missed another year of baseball.<\/p>\n

On Friday, McClanahan was giving hugs in the Rays dugout to his pitching coach, fitness coach and others after throwing five scoreless innings against the Red Sox in a spring training game in Port Charlotte. It was the most innings McClanahan had thrown in any game since July of 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who wanted a hug,\u201d McClanahan said after his parade of hugs through the dugout.<\/p>\n

Now, McClanahan is ready for the season and to help lead the Rays\u2019 rotation.<\/p>\n

This latest trial for McClanahan to pass through, is just one of many he has been through. After a dominant 2015 senior season at Cape Coral that led to him being drafted by the New York Mets in the 26th round, McClanahan went to the University of South Florida instead and in his first year underwent his first Tommy John surgery. He was able to bounce back and pitch well enough to be a first round compensatory pick by the Rays in 2018. He flew through their minor league system, and became one of the few players in baseball history to debut in the playoffs, when he was called up in the fall of 2020, debuting in the 2020 postseason. McClanahan would pitch against the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series and the Astros in the American League Championship Series. He finished his playoffs with one inning of relief against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series. After being named to two American League All-Star teams in 2022 and 2023, McClanahan had his second Tommy John surgery, losing all of his 2024 season. <\/p>\n

A year ago, it wasn\u2019t clear when McClanahan would get back to the mound after the nerve injury required surgery.<\/p>\n

McClanahan\u2019s road to recovery was even more emotional after his dad James (Clancy) died in January. Shane was born in Baltimore and moved to Cape Coral with his family when he was five. His dad volunteered at St. Andrews Catholic School in Cape Coral and coached his children\u2019s softball and little league teams. He later was a volunteer umpire at several local Little League baseball fields.<\/p>\n

So when you saw Shane on Friday hugging coaches and teammates after throwing five innings for the first time in more than two years, it was easy to understand how emotional it was for McClanahan. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fun,\u201d McClanahan said of his last spring training outing. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s pretty, sexy, ugly, just get the job done that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d McClanahan said he thinks he still needs to be \u201cmore consistent with his body and fill out the zone better\u201d as he navigates being away from pitching for more than two years. \u201cThat will come with reps,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

While McClanahan will find time to fine tune his arsenal throughout the season, on Friday his stuff looked crisp for somebody who hadn\u2019t pitched in more than two years and has had to overcome what he has. Over 73 pitches, his fastball was moving between 93-96 mph, his changeup and slider was working between 85-86 mph, and his curveball has plenty of bite at 80 mph. Before Tommy John surgery, McClanahan was known for being able to dial up his fastball up to 98 mph with a slider that could top out at 90 mph.<\/p>\n

His numbers still tell the story of a dominant pitcher. In four outings this spring, McClanahan pitched to a 2.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, with 15 strikeouts over 13 innings. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought everything was working good,\u201d he said after Friday\u2019s game. \u201cI have got to throw a little bit more strikes with the fastball. That\u2019s the last thing to come. I am still trying to get this body going and getting everything timed up. That will come though,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not worried about it. I am not going to press too hard. It\u2019s spring training. The regular season has got a little bit more juice to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

McClanahan started off Friday\u2019s game by hitting Roman Anthony on a fastball but settled down to strike out three batters in the inning. He finished the day with four strikeouts over five scoreless innings while allowing three hits and two walks. \u201cIt\u2019s always good to get that last one under your belt,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

McClanahan is expected to make his big league season debut in Milwaukee next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcited to get this thing rolling,\u201d McClanahan said.<\/p>\n

Rays Manager Kevin Cash liked what he saw from the left-hander. \u201cI was excited by him,\u201d Cash said. \u201cHe looked really good. His last two outings, he has got a good feel for the changeup. His fastball velocity is right in line with what we were hoping it would be at this point.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cash said McClanahan\u2019s changeup is his most effective pitch. \u201cWhen he is healthy, it\u2019s a four-pitch mix that is pretty dominating. On a given night, he can use two pitches to keep hitters off balance. The changeup has probably been the highlight pitch this spring training. The arm speed, the fade and the action that he creates, the depth, it doesn\u2019t seem like many hitters have an answer for it,\u201d Cash said.<\/p>\n

Garrett Cleavinger relieved McClanahan on Friday. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see what he does this year,\u201d Cleavinger said. \u201cThe adversity that he has gone through the last couple of years was tough. To see him healthy and back out there, you can just see the smile on his face and how happy he is to be here again.\u201d Cleavinger said hitting that five-inning mark for McClanahan was \u201ca good hurdle to cross now and now he is ready to roll. He is incredible, one of the best in the game.\u201d <\/p>\n

McClanahan said he lost about 15 pounds since last year. \u201cI came into camp around 215,216 last year thinking the extra muscle would help and decided that it was a little bit more of a hinderance. I felt stiff and I wanted to get back to being loose and being who I am and just letting my body be whatever it wants to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McClanahan doesn\u2019t just throw with high velocity, touching better than 96 miles per hour with his fastball in his last start, but he also wastes no time between pitches. His quick delivery makes him perfectly suited for the pitch clock era. McClanahan\u2019s quick movements are all part of the confidence he exhibits on the mound and away from the mound, something that he has exhibited going back to when he made his brief stop in Port Charlotte in 2019 and left town with a 1.46 ERA after nine games. While pitching for the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs that year, McClanahan limited hitters to a .183 batting average, on his way to speeding through three minor league levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big deal,\u201d Cash said of what McClanahan has gone through to get back on the mound. \u201cIt takes some type of mental strength to overcome it because there are a lot of frustrating days throughout that rehab process. They all think when they go through it to some degree that they are invincible and then when they realize they are not, it\u2019s an added element that you have got to have it in your mind that you are going to get through it and withstand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

McClanahan makes Tampa his home these days. McClanahan\u2019s number was retired by Cape Coral High School in 2022. He still has friends in Cape Coral that he connects with, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of love for all the people in Cape Coral that support me and I am very thankful for it,\u201d McClanahan said Friday after the game. <\/p>\n

For now, McClanahan is not concentrating on the past. His focus is on the immediate future.<\/p>\n

Last year, McClanahan said he thinks he got a little bit ahead of himself returning off Tommy John surgery and thinking too far into the future. \u201cJust take it one day. Just let one foot lead you to the next and trust today\u2019s work will lead you to tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After the game, there were more hugs waiting for McClanahan from his family on the field in Port Charlotte for the last time this spring training. He now heads up I-75 to pitch in St. Petersburg on what he and Rays fans hope will be an injury-free season for the 28-year-old.<\/p>\n

Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com<\/p>\n


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