TAMPA — Shane McClanahan got a “very good” report from a nerve specialist on Tuesday and should resume his throwing progression soon, Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
McClanahan went to see nerve specialist Dr. Gregory Pearl in Dallas after not feeling as he had hoped in his first full-distance bullpen session on June 7 while throwing 10-12 pitches. “He’s not handling not feeling 100% well,” Cash said at the time.
McClanahan, who was sidelined late in spring training with a nerve issue in his triceps, then went “kind of in shutdown mode” awaiting Tuesday’s appointment.
“All good, everything was very good with Shane,” Cash said. “Expect to see him back, I think (Wednesday). All of his reports were good. He played catch (Tuesday) in Texas out to 125 feet, so encouraged by that.
“Hopefully he’s got some good peace of mind and we can get him back on the mound here soon.”
McClanahan has not pitched in the majors since an August 2023 elbow injury that led to his second Tommy John surgery. He had a strong spring training and was in line to be the opening day starter until the nerve issue forced him from a March 22 outing.
Baseball operations president Erik Neander said when McClanahan started the throwing progression in early June that if all went well he could could rejoin the rotation as soon as late July. It’s not clear how much this delay will impact that timeline.
Aranda first in stats, third in votes![In the first All-Star voting update released by Major League Baseball, the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda has some ground to make up to be the starting first baseman for the American League.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 348"/%3E "In the first All-Star voting update released by Major League Baseball, the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda has some ground to make up to be the starting first baseman for the American League.")
In the first All-Star voting update released by Major League Baseball, the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda has some ground to make up to be the starting first baseman for the American League. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda has better stats than New York’s Paul Goldschmidt and Toronto’s Vlad Guerrero Jr.
But the two veterans have more — considerably more — votes to be the starting first baseman for the American League All-Star team in the first update from Major League Baseball.
Goldschmidt garnered 667,258 votes, Guerrero 614,726 and Aranda 483,290.
Statistically, though, Aranda has the lead, posting a better average (.324 going into play Tuesday), more homers and RBIs (eight and 39) and a higher OPS (.914 to .820).
Goldschmidt was hitting .309 with seven homers, 31 RBIs and an .820 OPS. Guerrero was hitting .274 with eight homers, 31 RBIs and .790 OPS.
Only two other Rays showed up in the top 10 for position players (top 20 for outfielders): Brandon Lowe was fifth at second base with 238,799 votes, trailing Detroit’s Gleyber Torres, with 535,079; and Junior Caminero was sixth at third base with 162,300 votes; Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez led with 968,754.
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Voting continues on mlb.com/vote through noon June 26. That night the top two at each position (and top six outfielders) will be revealed for a second phase of voting to determine the starters. Reserves and some pitchers are named by a vote of the players, and MLB will pick players to fill out the rosters and make sure each team is represented.
That old college spiritDrew Rasmussen has some College World Series rooting interest with alma mater Oregon State making the field. [ PAMELA SMITH | AP ]
Drew Rasmussen has had a rooting interest in the College World Series.
His Oregon State Beavers made it to Omaha for the first time since back-to-back appearances when he was there in 2017-18.
“Really happy for those guys,” Rasmussen said. “It’s been a couple of years since the program has been back. (Coach Mitch Canham) is doing a good job over there. And the entire staff being former players is really cool to see now. What they’ve done on a recruiting front, but also what they’ve done from a development standpoint, it’s been fun to watch. …
“Three out of the last four years Oregon State had made a Super Regional, so to see them kind of punch through and get there for the first under this new coaching staff is fun. And it’s exciting for those kids.”
Even better, Rasmussen said, was that to get to the Series, Oregon State won the Super Regional over Florida State, the college home of manager Kevin Cash, shortstop Taylor Walls and several members of the clubhouse staff.
“Of course it was (fun),” Rasmussen said. “I got to run my mouth for a week.”
Cash, who played in the 1998 and 1999 College World Series for the Seminoles, said he took it since Oregon State was such a good team.
He also recalled enjoying his time in Omaha.
“In the moment, you probably don’t appreciate how big of an event it is,” he said. “College baseball has really changed a lot over the years, and everybody pulls for their school to do well. It was an exciting time. I know mom and dad still talk about that to this day, and they don’t miss a game.”
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