When Will George Kirby, Grayson Rodriguez, Shane McClanahan Return? Fantasy Baseball Injury Update

The Major League Baseball regular season is ready to roll, but a few key starting pitchers are missing from their team's Opening Day rotations. George Kirby of the Mariners, Grayson Rodriguez of the Orioles, and Shane McClanahan of the Rays are each critical to their team's success this season, but all three will start the season on the shelf.

Injuries are, unfortunately, a normal part of fantasy baseball, and successfully navigating and surviving the absence of key contributors is critical to success. Starting pitcher is an especially important position to stock your roster with extra depth since pitchers deal with a variety of injuries throughout the season. Some are serious and season-ending, while others are minor and may just mean one missed start. Keeping on top of all the injury news can help you correctly value players for redraft or dynasty leagues.

Let's take a look at the latest updates on Kirby, Rodriguez, and McClanahan.

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George Kirby Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

The Mariners shut Kirby down after his first spring training start due to shoulder inflammation. He underwent an MRI that showed no structural damage to the shoulder but did reveal the inflammation. At the time, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said that Kirby was expected to miss the first 10 days to two weeks of the season. Since then, Kirby has progressed and played catch early this week.

George Kirby going through a light workout as he continues his throwing progression. pic.twitter.com/BfNcjE13We

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) March 24, 2025

Obviously, with any pitcher, a shoulder injury is cause for concern. Kirby was a workhorse last year, starting 33 games to tie for the league lead and going 14-11 with a 3.53 ERA, 3.26 FIP, and 8.4 K/9. The workload may have taken a toll, though, and led to his issues ramping up this spring.

While he's out, the Mariners will roll with Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, and Emerson Hancock in their starting rotation. Hancock is the least experienced of the group and is the most obvious choice to be sent to a new role in the bullpen or Triple-A when Kirby returns.

At this point, Kirby still seems on track for a return in just a few weeks. He's still worth holding in all but the most shallow formats and could still be back before the season's first month is over. There's no concrete timetable yet, but it will hopefully remain a short-term issue.

Grayson Rodriguez Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

The Orioles need Rodriguez to step up and support their thin starting rotation this season, but the 25-year-old righty was pulled from a Grapefruit League start in early March and shut down due to arm issues. Initially, the team called it triceps soreness, but an MRI revealed elbow inflammation, which required a cortisone shot.

Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez (elbow/tricep) is doing some light throwing from about 90 feet in the outfield here at Nationals Park pregame. pic.twitter.com/s7wZZWTuFO

— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) March 24, 2025

Rodriguez resumed throwing and worked his way up to 90 feet earlier this week. The plan is for him to throw a bullpen this week and restart his progression. He said, "Basically, spring training starts over." That would mean that Rodriguez will need a few minor league rehab starts and probably try to join the O's around the end of April.

Rodriguez went 13-4 in his 20 starts in 2024 with a 3.86 ERA, 3.66 FIP, and 10.0 K/9. It was by far his best season in the majors, and he was fairly consistent until he was injured in early August with a shoulder strain and did not return.

The Orioles come into he season with Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Cade Povich in the rotation. There are several question marks in that group, and Rodriguez would likely be the ace if healthy. If you banked on Rodriguez to anchor your rotation like the Orioles did this season, he's definitely still a hold option at this point. He isn't expected to be out for a long time unless he experiences further complications.

Shane McClanahan Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

McClanahan's injury was much more dramatic than Kirby's or Rodriguez's since it happened live on the field on a single pitch. The 27-year-old southpaw said he “felt something grab" on this pitch against the Red Sox on March 22

This is so sad, I love Shane McClanahan hate to see him get hurt again, 19 months out from Tommy John pic.twitter.com/C8ZO041DfA

— Goldschmidt Happened (@GoldyHappens) March 22, 2025

Given how serious the injury looked and his extensive injury history, the news on McClanahan was as good as anyone could have hoped for. The team diagnosed him with nerve irritation in his left triceps area. Manager Kevin Cash said it was "Probably the best news we could have heard," but added that "We’ve got to just let it [triceps] calm down....I don’t think we have a timeframe quite yet.’’

McClanahan was dominant in 2022 and 2023, going a combined 23-10 with a 2.85 ERA, 3.38 FIP, and 10.1 K/9. He missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery and was working his way back when this nerve issue cropped up. He looked very sharp prior to the injury, so there's still a very high ceiling when he's able to return.

Until he is ready to come back, the Rays will go with Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, Shane Baz, and Zack Littell in the rotation. Since Pepiot, Bradley, and Baz are all top-tier young prospects, Rasmussen or Littell will likely step aside when McClanahan is ready to return.

Of the three starting pitchers in this post, though, McClanahan has the least clear timetable. He was placed on the 15-day IL and scratched from his Opening Day start. Pepiot will get the call for the Rays when they host the Rockies in the only series that does not start on Thursday. While this issue isn't expected to be a long-term setback, McClanahan will likely have to build up again before returning to the mound. Since he hasn't been able to start a throwing program, he will likely miss more than the minimum of 15 days but hopefully will not be out long-term.

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