Shane McClanahan was removed from a recent start due to an apparent injury. Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash revealed the reason he decided to remove the star left-hander from the game during an interview, per MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.

“My decision was fairly precautionary,” Cash said. “There were some flags up there with the velocity being down. Knew that he was trying to work through some back issue. I'm pretty optimistic right now that he's fine. But just felt like in that moment, it's probably a little bit better to be aggressive with that call than try to have him push through something. We all know how important Shane McClanahan is to our team.”

McClanahan is probably going to be an All-Star once again in 2023 after starting the game in 2022. If the season ended today, he'd also have a strong case for winning the AL Cy Young award.

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McClanahan has been filthy this year. The Rays' ace currently owns a league-leading 2.23 ERA to go along with 100 strikeouts. For those who don't believe wins and losses matter for pitchers, McClanahan happens to lead the league in wins for a Rays team that also has the best record in baseball. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it's difficult to argue that McClanahan's 11 wins compared to just one loss haven't greatly impacted the ball club.

For now, Tampa Bay fans are hopeful that Shane McClanahan can avoid a stint on the IL. Cash's comments are optimistic, but we will continue to monitor and provide updates on the situation as they are made available.