The only setback two-way player Brendan McKay has experienced in his recovery from left shoulder surgery was more weird than worrying.

McKay had season-ending surgery last August to repair what he called a small tear in his labrum and to address some inflammation in the back of his shoulder. He’s been doing more hitting than pitching so far in Spring Training, taking batting practice nearly every day while working through his rehabilitation as a pitcher.

However, he recently had to press pause for about a week during his flat-ground throwing progression due to a highly relatable mishap: McKay said he was trying to cut tags off some dog toys when the knife slipped and nicked his left index finger.

“It was a pretty good cut,” he said on Tuesday, “but I think we're pretty much back to good now.”

McKay is scheduled to throw off the mound for the first time toward the end of the month, a big step in his buildup as a pitcher. The goal for MLB Pipeline’s No. 72 prospect is to hit in games by the end of next week, though it’s unclear if that will take place against live pitching on the back fields of Charlotte Sports Park or in Grapefruit League competition.

McKay hit .214 with a .697 OPS and 15 homers in 559 plate appearances in the Minors, and he was a .328/.430/.536 hitter at the University of Louisville. McKay said he started taking swings in mid-December, and his early work was simply focused on getting his body back in sync. Now, he said, his swing’s feeling “really good.”

“Just get it fine-tuned,” he said. “Obviously with not getting any swings last year in any games, you're trying to catch up and get to the point where you feel confident to be in a game.”

McKay said he’s spent a lot of time lately watching other Spring Training games, so he’s kept up with the progress of fellow two-way player Shohei Ohtani. McKay heard the Angels right-hander was touching triple digits off the mound and crushing home runs at the plate, a good sign that he’s ready to go on both fronts.

And how does McKay view himself? As a pitcher, hitter or both?

“Still both right now,” he said.

McKay put together a 5.14 ERA in 49 innings over 13 appearances two years ago, when he also went 2-for-10 with one home run at the plate. He came into last year with the Rays focused more on his pitching, but his season never got off the ground. McKay tested positive for COVID-19 last July, missed the remainder of Summer Camp, threw a few bullpen sessions and then “felt something in my shoulder that still wasn’t right” during his live batting practice sessions. The tests revealed a torn labrum and inflammation near his shoulder capsule, leading to surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Watching from afar as his teammates made a run to the World Series only further motivated McKay, the fourth overall pick in the 2017 Draft, to get back.

“As much as it sucked having to sit at home and watch the games, it felt better for me being down and not being at the field and knowing like, 'Hey, I've got no impact in the game,' and sitting there worrying, or like being stressed as a competitor would be,” McKay said. “I was at home, watching the games, still having the heart for it, but it made me feel a little bit better knowing that I'm bettering myself trying to get better there. And seeing what they did on the field made me really proud of what they did.”

Game notes
• Left-handers Josh Fleming and Shane McClanahan continued to pitch well in the Rays’ 11-3 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday at Charlotte Sports Park. Fleming breezed through two innings, giving up one hit while striking out Red Sox prospect Bobby Dalbec and not letting Boston hit a ball out of the infield. Then came McClanahan and his power arsenal, striking out the side -- all swinging -- in the third.

“Both those guys are going to help us in multiple ways, I would imagine, throughout this season,” manager Kevin Cash said.

• Late-inning reliever Nick Anderson worked quickly during his Spring Training debut, recording three groundouts in a perfect fourth inning. Anderson joked about the trio of outs on the ground -- “Ground-ball pitcher now,” he said. “Watch out!” -- and said he felt good in his first outing.

“It was good to get out there and take the training wheels off a bit,” Anderson said. “I had a little bit of butterflies, which I think is a good thing.”

• Outfield prospect Josh Lowe had two hits off the bench, drove in a run and took over for Kevin Kiermaier in center field. Cash said he believes that facing high-quality pitching at the Rays’ alternate training site last summer has benefitted Lowe.

“He’s got the look,” Cash said. “It’s a big guy. Strong, fast. … He’s looked really good in all facets this spring.”

Around the horn
• Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (two innings plus two batters), lefty Ryan Sherriff and right-hander Ryan Thompson pitched in an intrasquad game on Tuesday morning against outfielder Manuel Margot and infielders Xavier Edwards, Greg Jones and Mike Brosseau.

• The Rays haven’t yet trimmed their Spring Training roster, as some teams are starting to do, but they’re looking at potentially making first cuts early next week. The challenge this spring is mostly figuring out what to do with the players who are optioned or reassigned; they’d typically be sent to Minor League camp, but that option won’t technically exist until the end of big league camp.

“Seventy-five guys are not going to be on the Opening Day roster, as much as maybe I'd like that,” Cash quipped. “I think we’re going to start getting ahead of some of those conversations in the coming days.”

• Right-hander Drew Strotman said he missed about seven days at the start of camp due to COVID-19 protocols. All his tests came back negative, but he was held out due to contact tracing. The time off didn’t set him back, as he’s already pitching in games, and he’s been eager to learn from veteran pitchers like Chris Archer during his first big league camp.

• Catcher Kevan Smith, who was scratched from Friday’s lineup due to back tightness, entered Tuesday’s game off the bench and went 2-for-2 with two RBIs against the Red Sox. Reliever Pete Fairbanks, who didn’t pitch as planned on Sunday due to food poisoning, is feeling better and tentatively scheduled to pitch on Thursday.

Up next
Pitching prospect Luis Patiño will get another chance to show his stuff on Wednesday as he takes the mound to begin the Rays’ 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Twins at Charlotte Sports Park. Also scheduled to pitch are right-handers Joe Ryan and Strotman and lefties Dietrich Enns and Jeffrey Springs.

The game will air on FOX Sports Sun and MLB.TV, and the Rays' radio broadcast will be available for free on MLB.com.