Shane McClanahan is ready more than ever to get back on the mound

It has been nearly three years since Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan has pitched after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in August 2023.

While rehabbing for his return, McClanahan suffered a nerve injury, setting back his return and causing him to miss the last two seasons.

Before the initial injury to the ace, the first two full seasons, and in the middle of that third season, McClanahan was dominant to say the least, and the two all-star appearances in 2022 and 2023 prove it, along with the 33-16 record over 74 starts for an average of 3.02 ERA.

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Now that McClanahan is likely to be on the Rays' opening-day roster for the 2026 season, he discussed what it means to him to return after a long hiatus.

"I think I've learned more through this process than I might've learned in my first 26 years of life," McClanahan stated, a part of the MLB Network short series, '30 Clubs, 30 Camps'.

It shouldn't be a big surprise how humbling it is to miss multiple seasons of your career, especially after being at the top of your game so young, in only the first few years.

With McClanahan now 28, the worry is not that he is not in his prime, because he is still very young and obviously has the talent to perform at a high level. Still, there may be doubt about whether the ace can get back to his original level of production after being off for 2 years.

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