Searching for answers to devastating string of injuries to Rays pitchers
ST. PETERSBURG — In the aftermath of another elbow injury, there is a renewed sense of dread. Of unease. Mostly, there is a haunting, inescapable question:
Why does this keep happening to the Rays?
Shane McClanahan is likely out for the season, joining Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen before him. And Tyler Glasnow, Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge before them. And Yonny Chirinos, Jalen Beeks and Colin Poche before them.
In the past 36 months, the Rays have had an alarming number of pitchers in need of elbow surgery of some type. And while reconstructive Tommy John surgery is more common than ever, no franchise has had as many high-profile elbow problems as Tampa Bay since 2020.
Complicating the question is the team’s widely praised record of success when it comes to turning previously unremarkable pitchers into valuable commodities in the bullpen and rotation. Modern technology is allowing pitchers to optimize their performance when it comes to velocity and manipulating pitches, and the Rays seem to be better at that optimization than any other team. So does that formula put arms at greater risk?
Rays pitchers say no. They insist there is little difference between Tampa Bay’s pitching program and those of other clubs. Team officials also push back on that notion. They say pitch selection, strike throwing and the increased confidence that follows have helped their pitchers more than chasing velocity or spin rates.
It’s also noteworthy that on a team with a history of roster turnover, there have not been any complaints about excessive risk from pitchers who have left the organization in recent seasons.
Zack Littell is Tampa Bay’s latest reclamation project, a journeyman reliever who was traded twice, sold once and claimed on waivers by the time he arrived in the Rays clubhouse this year. At age 27, the Rays have converted him into a starter after four-plus seasons as a reliever. He is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his first five starts.
“I’ve been around a few different organizations now, and it’s not like the Rays are doing anything that is going to lead to more injuries. I just think injuries are a part of the game today,” Littell said. “Obviously, this is a polarizing topic. You’ll find people out there who are going to say, ‘Yeah, clearly they must be doing something that is getting guys hurt.’ But in the world of pitching, when you’ve got guys who are pushing their bodies to the absolute max every night they go out there, it’s bound to happen.
“I guess, technically, it feels like the Rays have had a few more. But if you look over the course of the last 10 years, and the 10 years before that, you’ll probably find a different (team) is leading every single time. It fluctuates. Injuries come in waves. It sucks right now because we’ve got a group of starters on the (injured list) who would make up one of the top rotations in the league. But that just as easily could happen to the Yankees or the Dodgers. It just happens to be us right now.”
To that point, the Guardians used four starting pitchers in the 2022 postseason. Two, Shane Bieber and Tristan McKenzie, are on the 60-day injured list with elbow problems. A third, Cal Quantrill, has been out the past month with a shoulder problem. The Dodgers have lost two of their top homegrown starters, Walker Buehler and Dustin May, to Tommy John and follow-up elbow surgeries in recent seasons.
A recent Tampa Bay Times study indicated that nearly 40% of all pitchers on the 26-man roster and injured list for all 30 teams on a single day in June had had Tommy John surgery at some point in their careers.
If anything, when it comes to usage, the Rays are more conservative than most teams. McClanahan averaged 86.7 pitches per start, which put him near the bottom of the league for qualifying pitchers, and he pitched with at least one day of extra rest before 13 of his 21 starts. And when it comes to the bullpen, none of Tampa Bay’s relievers are in the top 35 in the majors in innings pitched.
“I can’t compare it because I’m not in other training rooms, but I feel we try to be as preventative and proactive with maintenance as possible,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “But it’s fair to say something has not worked in our favor.”
So if starters throw fewer pitches and relievers throw fewer innings, and pitchers insist there is nothing dramatically different in their mechanics, preparation or treatment, is there a plausible explanation for Tampa Bay having more high-profile injuries than other clubs the past three seasons?
It’s possible the Rays put themselves at greater risk with the pitchers they acquire. One of the greatest indicators of future elbow problems is past Tommy John surgery. McClanahan and Poche had Tommy John operations in college. Rasmussen had the procedure twice in college.
Could it be that simple? Is it possible the Rays have just had an unlucky mix of worst-case scenarios on top of a league average number of injuries? Perhaps. Could it be that something undetected in the franchise’s philosophy is putting them more at risk? That’s possible, too.
The only thing we know for certain is the Rays have lost three-fifths of their starting rotation in the past four months. Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals was the first time they had to replace McClanahan in the rotation since his elbow flareup.
Contact John Romano at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.
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