Another Worrisome Injury Update on Tampa Bay Rays Ace Shane McClanahan
Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan is flying to Los Angeles on Sunday as worry grows about his injured forearm.
The following update comes from Rays reporter Mark Topkin on Twitter:
#Rays Shane McClanahan will fly to LA on Sunday for a Monday appointment with Dr. Neal Elattrache, one of several specialists he is expected to see to determine cause/severity/treatment of forearm tightness
That's certainly problematic news for the Rays, who are attempting to win the American League East this season. If they are going to do it, they'll need McClanahan, who is one of the top pitchers in the game.
But any time you hear "forearm tightness" which is what we heard the other day about McClanahan, and then you hear about him flying to meet with Dr. Neal Elattrache, who performs Tommy John surgeries, it's hard to not be concerned. He was placed on the injured list earlier this week.
The lefty struggled in his most recent start on Wednesday, lasting just four innings. He allowed five earned runs on five hits. He walked none and struck out two. An All-Star this season, he's now 11-2 with a 3.29 ERA.
He's dealt with injury issues over the last month as he was on the injured list in July for a back issue, and now he's dealing with this.
The Rays have already lost starting pitchers Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen to the injured list for the season, so they can ill-afford to lose McClanahan for a substantial period of time.
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