When Will Shane McClanahan, Bryce Miller, Tyler Glasnow Return? Fantasy Baseball Injury Update

May 29, 2025

When will Shane McClanahan, Bryce Miller, and Tyler Glasnow return to the mound? Will they be back again this season? Read the latest fantasy baseball injury updates and return date for Week 9 of the 2025 MLB season.

The rotations of the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers have each faced noteworthy injury problems so far in the 2025 season. All three of those teams have had to trudge through a large portion of the year without contributions from some of their top starting pitchers.

In this piece, we'll focus on the banged-up group of Shane McClanahan (Rays), Bryce Miller (Mariners), and Tyler Glasnow (Dodgers). All three hurlers are currently on the injured list with varying recovery times. Fantasy managers are left to hope they'll rejoin their clubs soon and regain past form.

So, when will McClanahan, Miller, and Glasnow return? Will they be back in June? Let's dive in and find out. 

Shane McClanahan Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

A first-round pick of the Rays in 2018, McClanahan has thrived since he made his major league debut in 2021. Dating back to then, the hard-throwing left-hander has amassed 404 2/3 innings and posted a stingy 3.02 ERA while averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine, issuing fewer than three walks per nine, and generating groundballs at a 47% clip. As a result of his excellent work, McClanahan has already earned a pair of All-Star nods.

McClanahan's most recent invitation to the Midsummer Classic came in 2023. Unfortunately, he missed the game with a back injury and has barely pitched since. He returned from his back ailment that year to make four starts before landing on the injured list with forearm discomfort in August.

A few weeks later, the Rays announced that McClanahan would require the dreaded Tommy John surgery -- a procedure he previously underwent as a college hurler at the University of South Florida.

While McClanahan is now almost two full years removed from going under the knife, he still hasn't logged any regular-season action since then. McClanahan returned in spring training this year to throw seven scoreless frames over three starts, but he exited the last of those appearances with nerve irritation in his left triceps.

Shane McClanahan -

19 months out from his 2nd Tommy John surgery. Never like seeing this kind of dead arm reaction in throwers, especially coming off TJ.#TampaBay #RaysUp

pic.twitter.com/rvdepkRC5X

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) March 22, 2025

The triceps issue forced the 28-year-old to begin the season on the 60-day injured list. We're nearing June, and a return still doesn't appear imminent. Manager Kevin Cash's most recent update on McClanahan came on May 12, when he revealed that the ace was still feeling discomfort in his triceps while playing catch from 60 feet. McClanahan didn't have to halt his throwing program, but it still wasn't a reassuring development.

Considering he still has plenty of ramping up to do, odds are McClanahan won't make his season debut until the second half of the campaign. If and when McClanahan does come back this year, the Rays are sure to ease him back in, meaning it's unrealistic to expect him to log high-end production in his first action since undergoing surgery in 2023. With that in mind, McClanahan will be a risky bet for fantasy managers for the remainder of the season.

Bryce Miller Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

Seattle used a fourth-rounder in 2021 on Miller, who became a regular in its rotation just two years later. He enjoyed a breakout showing a season ago with 180 1/3 innings of 2.94 ERA ball. The 26-year-old hasn't been able to follow up on that performance this season, though, as he recorded underwhelming numbers in eight starts before going on the IL on May 14 with elbow inflammation.

Elbow problems are often damning for pitchers, but Miller was fortunate to dodge any structural damage. He was diagnosed with a bone spur and received a cortisone shot. There has been optimism for the past couple of weeks about a fairly quick comeback to the Mariners rotation for Miller, who won't need a rehab assignment.

He threw a successful 45-pitch bullpen session on Monday. Afterward, general manager Justin Hollander said he expects the Mariners to activate Miller during the team's homestand, which runs through June 5. The upcoming weekend looks like a strong possibility.

Rookie Logan Evans has been sent down to Triple-A Tacoma to make room for reliever Jackson Kowar, Mariners just announced.

Open rotation spot an indication Bryce Miller will be activated off the IL this weekend.

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) May 28, 2025

When Miller gets back in action, he'll try to rebound from an ugly start in which he recorded 39 2/3 innings of 5.22 ERA pitching. He went 0-for-8 in registering a quality start and was unable to total more than 5 2/3 frames in any individual outing.

Along the way, Miller's strikeout rate sank 4% from last year to 20.1%. His walk rate skyrocketed from 6.4% to 12.1%.

"I haven't felt like myself, body-wise and physically," Miller admitted at the time of his IL placement.

If that's the case, it would go a long way toward explaining his disastrous beginning of the season.

Now, if Miller is indeed back at full strength, fantasy managers should look for steady production for the rest of the year. Expecting a repeat of last season's sub-3.00 ERA is a stretch, especially considering underlying metrics such as FIP (3.58) and xFIP (3.85) were less enamored of his 2024 work.

However, as someone who proved he could effectively eat innings and rack up quality starts (18) last season, a healthy Miller should remain an appealing option.

Tyler Glasnow Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

The Dodgers have gone the whole month without Glasnow, who went on the shelf April 28 with inflammation in his right shoulder. Although Glasnow has been a force when he has taken the mound, injuries have haunted him throughout his entire career.

Glasnow registered personal highs in starts (22) and innings (134) during an All-Star campaign last year, but he didn't pitch past August 11 because of elbow troubles. Consequently, he was unable to contribute in the postseason for the Dodgers, who still won the World Series without him. 

While the 6-foot-8 flamethrower put up a 3.49 ERA with marvelous strikeout and walk numbers in 2024, he was nowhere near as imposing this season before his IL placement. He accumulated a mere 18 innings in five starts, two of which were shortened by physical troubles, and was roughed up for a 4.50 ERA.

Glasnow did fan 23 hitters during that span, yet he also doled out 11 free passes and saw his typically high ground-ball rate plummet to a career-worst 33.3%. More flyballs led to an increase in homers against Glasnow, who has already yielded five.

To his credit, Glasnow combined for an outstanding 3.25 ERA with a dominant 11.95 K/9 and 2.61 BB/9 in a 348 2/3-inning stretch from 2021-24. With that in mind, he shouldn't be written off on account of this season's small sample of subpar production.

The main question for Glasnow isn't whether he'll bounce back. Rather, it's when he'll have the opportunity to do it. Glasnow is behind schedule in his recovery because the Dodgers shut him down from throwing for two weeks from the end of April until the middle of May. Fortunately, he has made recent progress.

Per #Dodgers Dave Roberts, Tyler Glasnow threw a bullpen session in LA today. Fewer than 20 pitches but "he said he felt great afterwards. Don’t know what that means with velocity. But I do know he was getting after it pretty good."

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 23, 2025

That's welcome news from Dave Roberts, but it still doesn't look as if Glasnow will be back on a big league mound soon. Fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised by Glasnow's lack of availability to this point, as it has come with the territory throughout his career. Nevertheless, considering how electrifying Glasnow is when he's healthy enough to toe the rubber, he's worth the risk.

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