Rays LHP Shane McClanahan (triceps) to open season on IL

Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan has nerve irritation in his left triceps and will begin the season on the injured list, manager Kevin Cash announced Sunday.

McClanahan, who turns 28 on April 28, was scheduled to start the Rays' season opener on Friday against the Colorado Rockies. He will be replaced by Ryan Pepiot.

An All-Star in 2022 and 2023 when he started both Opening Day games, McClanahan made an early exit in the third inning of his final spring training start on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox.

The team said after the game that McClanahan's pain was from left triceps tightness. Cash said that after further examination that it was from "nerve irritation."

"Probably the best news we could have heard," Cash said. "We haven't put a timeframe on it. I'm going to talk to Mac and see how it feels. We've got to just let it (triceps) calm down. Obviously, he aggravated it enough to come out and need some extra treatment. But I don't think we have a timeframe quite yet."

Coming off Tommy John surgery, McClanahan has not appeared in a major league game since August 2023.

"When anybody walks off the mound, it's very easy for our minds to wander to the worst-case scenario," Cash said. "I was actually confident (Saturday), it being a tricep, where he talked about it like a strain, something you can manage and treat. I didn't go right to surgery (mentally) for whatever reason. For the doctors to look at it and get the imaging, I mean, we're very fortunate."

McClanahan finished the spring with no runs, five hits and two walks allowed with eight strikeouts in seven innings over three starts.

After three major league seasons, McClanahan has a record of 33-16 with a 3.02 ERA in 74 games. The two-time All-Star has thrown 404 2/3 innings with 116 walks and 456 strikeouts.

--Field Level Media