McDermott was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Norfolk on Sept. 16 with a back strain, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.
The International League's championship is next week, so this may mean the end of McDermott's minor-league season. The 25-year-old righty logged a 2.49 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 31.2 percent strikeout rate and an 11.7 percent walk rate in 50.2 innings across 10 appearances for the Tides after tossing 68.1 innings at Double-A earlier in the year. McDermott hasn't had a walk rate below 11 percent in the upper levels of the minors, which could result in him eventually ending up in the bullpen. However, he's got a solid three-pitch mix in his 94-mph fastball (touches 96 mph), high-spin curveball and low-to-mid-80s slider, so if he can cut the walks slightly, he could get a look in the big-league rotation sometime next year.