McCarthy pitched two scoreless innings in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Padres to record the save. He allowed two hits and struck out two.
McCarthy joined the Cubs on a minor-league deal in February and is looking to earn a bullpen spot in camp. The 30-year-old owns a 3.80 ERA in 191.2 career major-league innings across five seasons with the Royals, though he spent 2021 toiling at the Triple-A level. McCarthy could earn a role in Chicago but probably won't see enough high-leverage work to have any fantasy relevance.
... See More... See Less
Cubs' Kevin McCarthy: Signs with Cubs
Rotowire
McCarthy signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs on Feb. 23.
McCarthy owns a 3.80 ERA in 191.2 career major-league innings, all of which came with the Royals. The last of those innings came in 2020, as he spent 2021 struggling to a 7.12 ERA in 43 Triple-A innings with the Red Sox's and White Sox's organizations. If he's able to rebound, the 30-year-old righty should have a shot at carving out a role in the rebuilding Cubs' bullpen.
... See More... See Less
White Sox's Kevin McCarthy: Signs with White Sox
Rotowire
McCarthy signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Tuesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
McCarthy was released by the Red Sox on Aug. 21, but he'll now serve as organizational depth for the White Sox. The right-hander made 28 appearances (two starts) for Triple-A Worcester to begin the year and recorded a 7.13 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 35.1 innings.
... See More... See Less
Kevin McCarthy: Released by Red Sox
Rotowire
McCarthy was released by the Red Sox on Saturday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.
McCarthy failed to secure a spot on Boston's Opening Day roster in 2021, and he struggled at Triple-A Worcester to begin the season. The right-hander posted a 7.39 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 35.1 innings across 28 appearances (two starts) and will now hit free agency.
... See More... See Less
Red Sox's Kevin McCarthy: Heading to Triple-A
Rotowire
McCarthy will report to Triple-A Worcester after the Red Sox informed him Monday that he won't be included in the Opening Day bullpen, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
McCarthy, who had been attending spring training as a non-roster invitee, made a strong case for a spot with the big club after tossing seven scoreless innings in relief during Grapefruit League play. Though his contract included a clause that would have allowed him to head to another organization if extended a 40-man roster spot, no such offers were apparently on the table for McCarthy. He'll look to continue to pitch well at Worcester with the hope of eventually getting a promotion to the big leagues.
... See More... See Less
Red Sox's Kevin McCarthy: Inks minor-league deal
Rotowire
McCarthy signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox on Thursday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
McCarthy became a free agent at the end of October rather than accepting an outright assignment from the Royals, and he'll now work out of Boston's minor-league system. The 28-year-old has made major-league appearances with the Royals in each of the last five seasons, and he posted a 4.48 ERA and 1.52 WHIP over 66.1 innings during the last two seasons.
... See More... See Less
Kevin McCarthy: Heads to free agency
Rotowire
McCarthy elected free agency Friday rather than accept an outright assignment to the minors.
McCarthy will try his luck on the open market after being removed from the Royals' 40-man roster. The righty threw 191.2 innings over parts of five seasons in Kansas City, recording a 3.80 ERA despite striking out just 14.5 percent of opposing batters.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Kevin McCarthy: Sent to alternate training site
Rotowire
McCarthy was optioned to the alternate training site after Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Reds, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.
McCarthy has appeared in six games this season and allowed three runs on 10 hits with a 2:2 K:BB over six innings. The 28-year-old had a 4.48 ERA in 56 appearances for the Royals in 2019.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Kevin McCarthy: Picks up third win
Rotowire
McCarthy (3-2) pitched a scoreless outing while allowing just one hit and striking out a batter across 1.2 innings Sunday while earning the win in the Royals' 6-4 victory over the Orioles.
McCarthy relieved starter Danny Duffy in the seventh inning and shut down the Orioles' hitters, which allowed the Royals to take and keep the lead in the seventh inning. The 27-year-old lowers his ERA to a 4.91 and owns a 27:19 K:BB across 46 innings of work.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Kevin McCarthy: Gets first save
Rotowire
McCarthy gave up two hits and struck out two through 2.1 scoreless innings to record his first save in a 6-1 win over the Twins on Sunday.
McCarthy entered the game in the seventh inning with a four-run lead and two runners on base before he immediately hit a batter to make things more interesting. However, he forced a groundball to end the inning and shut down the Twins in the next two frames to record his first major-league save. The right-hander is not likely to receive many save opportunities of the traditional sense, but he came through when needed in this contest. McCarthy has a 1-1 record with a 5.21 ERA through 19 innings this season.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Kevin McCarthy: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
McCarthy was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.
Tuesday's game was rained out, but McCarthy should be available to pitch in Wednesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He is not the 26th man for that doubleheader, and should remain up for the foreseeable future. McCarthy has a 2.77 FIP in 16.2 innings of relief at Triple-A, but has given up eight runs in 3.2 innings in the majors.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Kevin McCarthy: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
McCarthy was optioned to Triple-A Omaha.
The Royals added reinforcements to the pitching staff by promoting Heath Fillmyer and Richard Lovelady from Triple-A, so McCarthy was one of the players sent down in a corresponding move. He could return the next time the Royals need some fresh arms.
McCarthy struck out one in a perfect eighth inning Monday against the Angels, picking up his sixth hold of the season.
Tim Hill hit David Fletcher, the first batter of the eighth inning, and was then removed in favor of McCarthy. Wily Peralta picked up his first career save with a clean ninth inning, which only further complicates this closer-by-committee situation, which now features Peralta, McCarthy, Hill and Brandon Maurer.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Kevin McCarthy: Makes fourth straight scoreless appearance
Rotowire
McCarthy threw a scoreless seventh inning in Friday's win over the Astros, working around a pair of walks.
The 26-year-old was the first arm out of the bullpen to relieve starter Danny Duffy, and he helped preserve the lead before lefty Tim Hill got the save. Right-hander Brandon Maurer then blew a save chance Saturday, and that could open the door for McCarthy to take on a role in this newfound closer committee after Kelvin Herrera was traded earlier in the week.
McCarthy was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
In a corresponding move, the club optioned Brandon Maurer to Omaha. McCarthy failed to pin down a spot on the Royals' Opening Day roster but appeared in 33 games for the team last season, logging a 3.20 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 45 innings in a middle-relief role. He will likely be utilized in a similar fashion moving forward.
