Rays' McKay to undergo shoulder surgery

When Brendan McKay was shut down due to shoulder inflammation last week, the Rays hoped his absence would be a brief one. Unfortunately, it will not.

MLB.com's No. 16 overall prospect will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season, as first reported by the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin and confirmed by MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. The Rays are “hopeful” McKay will be ready for 2021 Spring Training, according to Topkin.

McKay got a late start to his 2020 campaign after a positive COVID-19 test in July and didn’t join the Rays until July 31. After being assigned to the club’s alternate training site at Port Charlotte, the two-way player was shut down on Aug. 11. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said the shoulder issue first reared its head a year ago after the lefty made a start on the mound at San Diego on Aug. 13, 2019.

“His build up was going well, but after an outing, he kind of went and said he felt really tight and not comfortable in the shoulder area,” Cash said last week. "He's had some issues in the past.

"We just want to do right by him."

McKay has battled injury issues throughout his career since being taken fourth overall in the 2017 Draft. Tampa Bay’s second-ranked prospect had lat problems in 2018, which prompted the Rays to focus on his development on the mound. McKay pitched primarily last year and thrived at Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham with a 6-0 record and 1.15 ERA in 15 outings (13 starts). McKay struck out 102 batters and only walked 18 in 73 2/3 innings pitched.

After being summoned to the Majors for his debut on June 29, the southpaw went 2-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 13 appearances (11 starts) for the big club. He also pitched three times in Tampa Bay’s five-game American League Division Series loss to Houston, allowing two unearned runs over 1 1/3 innings.

In limited action at the plate, he went 2-for-10 in the Majors with a homer and a walk.

At the Rays’ alternate training site, McKay had thrown a 20-pitch live batting practice session and “had appeared in a few outings” according to MLB.com before the shoulder issue halted his season.