Shane McClanahan

The Rays entered the offseason with at least seven rotation-caliber arms on the roster. Each of Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell, Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Pepiot has had success in a big league rotation, though injuries have hobbled several of that group in recent years. Tampa Bay already thinned out…

The Rays entered the offseason with at least seven rotation-caliber arms on the roster. Each of Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell, Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Pepiot has had success in a big league rotation, though injuries have hobbled several of that group in recent years. Tampa Bay already thinned out…

Bradley dealt with a lot of traffic today in giving up five hits and walking three, but he was able to strike out five to limit the damage. He has a 1.69 ERA through two spring outings, and while the Rays haven't confirmed any rotation members beyond Shane McClanahan, it'd be a major surprise if Bradley is excluded.

All is looking very good here. McClanahan averaged 96.2 mph with his fastball today, barely off his average of 96.8 mph in both 2022 and '23, and he got 11 missed swings on his 40 pitches. We're still not sure he's going to return to being an elite pitcher this season, but everything since the start of the spring has been encouraging.

McClanahan struck out one and walked none, though he did plunk Luisangel Acuna. This wasn't a Statcast game, but the ballpark radar put McClanahan in the upper 90s with his fastball, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin. He's already been names the Rays' Opening Day starter despite missing all of last year following Tommy John.