Tampa Bay Rays Get Positive Update on Ace Shane McClanahan and His Injured Back

After seeing their ace leave the game early on Thursday night with back problems, the Tampa Bay Rays have gotten good news on Shane McClanahan.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

McClanahan (back) threw from flat ground with trainers Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

ANALYSIS
Topkin further reported that the five-minute session seemed to go well, as McClanahan exchanged fistbumps and handshakes with the trainers as he walked off the field. McClanahan was forced to exit his start Thursday prematurely, though the initial indications suggest he avoided a serious issue.

That's as good an update as you can hope for with your best pitcher. The Rays can't afford more pitching injuries, either. They've already lost Jeffrey Springs for the season and have lost Drew Rasmussen until at least August.

McClanahan is one of the best pitchers in baseball and certainly will be an All-Star this year if healthy enough to participate, and he's been a fantasy baseball stud all year, too. He's 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA and has struck out 100 batters in 93.0 innings.

The Rays are currently 53-27 on the season and own the best record in baseball. They are 4.5 games up on the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. According to Fanduel, they are still the favorite to win the AL pennant. They are at plus-200 odds, with the Texas Rangers next at plus-400 and the Houston Astros third at plus-470.

Despite that overall record, the Rays have lost two of three thus far to the Kansas City Royals, who are the second-worst team in baseball. The two teams will finish out the series on Sunday afternoon at 1:40 p.m. ET.

Daniel Lynch (1-3, 4.45 ERA) pitches for the Royals while Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.97) goes for Tampa Bay.

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