McKay shut down with shoulder inflammation

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday that left-hander Brendan McKay has been shut down for seven to 10 days with left shoulder inflammation.

The injury is something McKay, who is the No. 2 overall prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, dealt with last season after his start in San Diego and Cash believes the left-hander hasn't completely gotten past it.

"We're in the middle of that right now. We'll see how it kind of plays out," Cash said. "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."

After 13 appearances with the Rays last season, McKay was expected to make an impact in the Tampa Bay rotation this season, but a positive test for COVID-19 sidelined him for the majority of Summer Camp. McKay has been at the alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Fla., since being cleared on July 31.

The left-hander had thrown a 20-pitch live batting practice session and had appeared in a few outings in Port Charlotte. Now, the shoulder inflammation sets McKay back at least two weeks.

"He's had some issues in the past," Cash said. "We just want to do right by him."

With McKay down for a couple of weeks, the Rays' starting depth has taken a hit over the past few days. Charlie Morton went on the 10-day injured list on Monday with right shoulder inflammation, while Yonny Chirinos was placed on the IL, retroactive to Aug. 3 with right triceps inflammation. Chirinos, however, played catch for the first time on Tuesday and there's optimism that his IL stint won't be a lengthy one.

"He feels really, really good," Cash said. "I think a lot of that irritation on the triceps has subsided and we're hoping to have him throw a bullpen [session] here in the next couple of days and see how that goes and if we can insert him back in."

Roster move
Left-hander Sean Gilmartin, who was designated for assignment on Sunday, accepted his outright assignment to the alternate training site in Port Charlotte. Gilmartin is back on the Rays' 60-man player pool.

Gilmartin gave up three runs on two home runs over 3 1/3 innings of work against the Yankees on Saturday. He is 4-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 80 career appearances. Sunday's outing was his first with Tampa Bay.

Quote of the day
"I'm excited to start getting more into the starter pitching role instead of the opener role." -- Rays starter Blake Snell, when talking about his goal of pitching at least five innings on Wednesday against the Red Sox