As Shane McClanahan eyes a comeback to the Rays after a nerve injury derailed his season, he faces physical and emotional challenges following his father’s passing.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — It was around this time last year we were building up the return of Shane McClanahan to the Rays rotation after Tommy John surgery. 

Camp went well; he was healthy and named the Opening Day starter in 2025. 

He just needed to get through one more tune-up start in Port Charlotte, and that’s when his entire season went sideways.

McClanahan suffered a nerve injury to his throwing elbow. Forget about throwing pitches. His quality of life suffered. 

“That was a really, really challenging time where you can’t feel anything. You can’t move your fingers, can’t grab anything,” McClanahan said. 

Neither he nor the team had any idea when he could return. The two-time All-Star tried to ramp back up a couple of times, but the attempts were unsuccessful. 

“You obviously miss playing, but you don’t realize until you get it taken away how special this atmosphere is,” McClanahan said.

Frustrated by the whole experience, he was forced to adapt physically and emotionally. On top of that, McClanahan also enters camp grieving the death of his father, who passed away earlier this year. 

“I told myself, you can either sit here, be pissy and hate your life or you can find the positive each day. It’s kind of what my dad would want so, you know, going to try and make him proud,” McClanahan added. 

While McClanahan cannot control the future, he has learned to harness the present. There is a newfound love for the game of baseball. 

“I’m ready to turn this chapter of my life. Just flip the page, man. I’m ready. I’m ready,” he said. 

Now, we have not seen Shane McClanahan pitch in a Major League Baseball game since August of 2023. He is obviously going to be on some sort of innings limit. Maybe it’s similar to what we saw with Drew Rasmussen last year. But hopefully he can get back on the mound inside the Trop because that’s where he belongs.