PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The last time Shane McClanahan stared down the mound and saw a hitter standing in the batter’s box, he still didn’t have full feeling in his left hand.
“I didn’t even really count that,” he said. “I couldn’t feel my thumb.”
It had taken weeks to regain control over most of his fingers, but his left thumb still wasn’t cooperating when he faced six batters in his third Minor League rehab start for Triple-A Durham last July 18. His fastball sat in the low 90s. He struggled to find the strike zone. He gave up a walk, two homers and a triple before exiting the game. A month later, he underwent surgery to clean up around the troublesome nerve in his left triceps that sidelined him all season.
So try to imagine how McClanahan felt on Saturday morning as he successfully threw one inning of batting practice on Field 4 at Charlotte Sports Park, his first time feeling like himself in nearly a year. It was just one step, but it was a big one for the two-time All-Star on his road back to the Rays’ rotation.
“I was just a little anxious leading up to it,” he said afterward. “A lot of [stuff] went into this whole process. Finally almost through it, and still a little healing left, but we’re so close. So I was ready to get out there and just do it.”
McClanahan threw 16 pitches to catcher Hunter Feduccia as he faced teammates Taylor Walls, Victor Mesa Jr. and Yandy Díaz. Pitching coach Kyle Snyder stood behind the mound, and manager Kevin Cash was part of the crowd assembled behind home plate to watch the left-hander.
“I was thrilled with it. Really encouraged,” Cash said. “The best part was that he walked off the mound smiling, and you could tell he was having a good time.”
McClanahan’s fastball clocked in between 94-97 mph, and he mixed in all of his secondary pitches. He isn’t totally letting it rip yet, and that’s by design. In conversations leading up to Saturday’s throwing session, he said he was advised to keep his effort level to about 80 percent. That can be a challenge for the fiercely competitive McClanahan, but he felt he accomplished that goal.
“It’s kind of weird to go throttle out there and trust it and just kind of feel it out,” he said. “I think [it was], honestly, about 80 percent. I really wasn’t trying to do too much. I was just trying to get the arm up and just be under control and not overthrow.”
This process will require patience, as McClanahan wants to unleash the stuff that made him one of the game’s best starters from 2021-23. The entire season could bring more of the same. The Rays will need to see McClanahan pitching at full intensity to show he’s ready for regular-season competition, but they will still want to manage his workload and be mindful of both his short- and long-term health.
Unfortunately, McClanahan has learned a thing or two about patience over the past 2 1/2 years.
“You feel lost. Honestly, there’s so many emotions of — you’re embarrassed, you’re tired of it, you’re frustrated,” McClanahan said. “I think humans have a negative bias, and so for me, it’s a little bit of a mental battle every day to just try to be positive and find the good in every situation. So I’m really, really, really ready to put this behind us and keep moving on.”
Still, McClanahan couldn’t fully suppress his typical intensity. He criticized himself after pitches he didn’t like, spouted some good-natured trash talk and expressed his intent to break the oversized 40-ounce bat that Díaz uses during BP sessions.
“When ‘Mac’ is doing that, that’s a good sign for us,” Cash said.
The bat survived their encounter, by the way, and produced a knock to left field.
“I think I threw him a changeup,” McClanahan said, grinning. “Kinda matched his bat speed.”
McClanahan’s next outing will take place in another live BP setting, likely pushing him into a second simulated inning. He could advance to pitching in Grapefruit League games after that, but he knows the process will be deliberate as he prepares to pitch in the Majors for the first time since August 2023.
“Just mind the pace, ‘Snydes’ always tells me, and just understand that there’s still a ton of time left in spring,” McClanahan said.
