The Rangers hired McCarthy (knee) as special assistant to the general manager Tuesday, officially putting an end to his playing career.
The 35-year-old McCarthy will call it quits after injuries limited him to just 234.1 innings over the past four seasons. He'll finish his playing career with a 69-75 record and 4.20 ERA across parts of 13 seasons (1223.2 innings) with the seven different teams.
McCarthy (knee) won't pitch again in 2018, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
McCarthy suffered a setback during his rehab at the beginning of the month, and it's since been decided that there isn't enough time left for McCarthy to return to health in the next month. The 35-year-old declared that he'd retire following the 2018 season, so his baseball career appears to be over. He'll finish with a 4.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 1,223.2 innings through 15 years in the major leagues.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Rehab halted after aggravating injury
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The Braves returned McCarthy from his rehab assignment after he aggravated his knee injury, and he'll remain on the 60-day disabled list.
The right-hander gave up two runs in two innings in his Friday assignment after two scoreless frames in his previous two turns for Triple-A Gwinnett. McCarthy will again wait out an injury as the team decides whether he'll rejoin the big-league roster and, perhaps, the rotation in 2018. The veteran holds a 4.92 ERA in 15 major-league starts.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: To begin rehab assignment
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McCarthy (knee) will start a rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.
McCarthy will progress to the next step in his rehab after being placed on the DL in late June due to right knee tendinitis. The 35-year-old still believes that he'll be able to rejoin the fold at the major-league level this season, but in a bullpen role instead of the rotation.
Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Will retire at season's end
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McCarthy (knee) announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the 2018 season, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. "If I was going to keep playing, a month and a half ago I would have had the surgery that cleans the [knee] and I'd be back next year just a little bit after spring [training]."
McCarthy has been on the disabled list with right knee tendinitis since late June and hasn't progressed as quickly as hoped, though he believes he'll be ready to contribute at some point in September. He recently resumed throwing off a mound and will face hitters in live batting practice Saturday before initiating a minor-league rehab assignment. Because of the extensive time he has missed in addition to the pedestrian numbers he had provided over his 15 starts with the big club this season, McCarthy will transition to the bullpen once the Braves bring him back from the 60-day DL. Staying healthy has been an issue for McCarthy throughout his time in the big leagues, but he has generally been a quality mid-rotation arm when he's been able to take the hill. Over parts of 13 seasons in the majors, McCarthy has gone 69-75 and accrued a 4.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 255 appearances (197 starts) with the White Sox, Rangers, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Throwing off mound
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McCarthy (knee) threw off a mound Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
This is an encouraging step for McCarthy, who has been on the disabled list since June 28 with right knee tendinitis. According to David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta, the right-hander is scheduled to throw live batting practice Saturday before hopefully being cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week. He's making adjustments that will hopefully allow him to return to the Braves in September, albeit as a reliever.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Shifts to 60-day DL
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The Braves transferred McCarthy (knee) to the 60-day disabled list Sunday, David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta reports.
McCarthy has been on the shelf for more than a month with right knee tendinitis and has yet to progress to throwing bullpen sessions, so it was unlikely he would be ready to return from the DL in less than 60 days anyway. If the veteran right-hander incurs no further setbacks from the knee injury and is able to reach all the necessary benchmarks in his rehab, he'll likely rejoin the Braves when rosters expand in September. It's uncertain if he'll still have a rotation spot waiting for him once he's healthy, however.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Not ready for mound work
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McCarthy hasn't progressed to mound work since being placed on the 10-day disabled list June 28 with right knee tendinitis, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
McCarthy has been rehabbing at his home in Arizona over the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't seem as though he has made much notable progress in his recovery to this point. The right-hander is scheduled to rejoin the Braves on Thursday, at which time he'll likely be re-evaluated and potentially gain clearance to take the next step forward in his throwing program. Based on his current place in the recovery process, McCarthy may not be an option for the Atlanta rotation until at least mid-August.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Won't return next week
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McCarthy (knee) will not be ready to return from the 10-day disabled list next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
McCarthy landed on the disabled list with right knee tendinitis in late June and the issue apparently hasn't improved enough for him to return next week, likely extending his absence through the All-Star break. Max Fried is still expected to fill McCarthy's role in the Braves' starting rotation, assuming his blister issue doesn't cause further problems.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Heads to disabled list
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McCarthy was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with right knee tendinitis.
McCarthy threw only 74 pitches during Sunday's start against the Orioles and came into the start having not pitched in nine days. It remains unclear how long the veteran right-hander has been dealing with the injury, but he is now sidelined through the first week of July, if not longer.
Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Strikes out five in win over Orioles
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McCarthy (6-3) earned the win Sunday against the Orioles, allowing three runs on five hits with no strikeouts across five innings. He struck out five.
McCarthy only allowed five men to reach on the day, but two of those hits happened to be home runs, which accounted for all the visitor's runs. Luckily he received plenty of early run support and left the ballpark with his first win in over a month. While his 4.92 ERA and 1.46 WHIP are nothing to write home about, McCarthy has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his last seven starts. These types of outings should be enough to earn the veteran a few more wins moving forward, with his next start scheduled Saturday against the Cardinals.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Will start Sunday
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McCarthy will take the mound against the Orioles on Sunday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
McCarthy will be well rested for this start, with his last appearance coming against San Diego on June 15. The 34-year-old has been serviceable for the Braves this season, posting a 4.89 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with a 7.3 K/9 over 14 starts. With McCarthy set to pitch Sunday, Mike Foltynewicz (triceps) is now expected to come off the disabled list for Monday's game against the Reds.
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Braves' Brandon McCarthy: Likely bound for bullpen this week
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McCarthy is expected to work out of the bullpen during the Braves' five-game slate this week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
With off days Monday and Thursday and Mike Foltynewicz (triceps) due to return from the disabled list Saturday against the Orioles, the Braves have elected to streamline their rotation this week. That decision will be most detrimental to McCarthy, who will forfeit his turn in the rotation Wednesday in Toronto to Anibal Sanchez. After tossing seven shutout innings his last time out to bring his ERA below 2.00 for the season, Sanchez seems to have leapfrogged McCarthy on the depth chart and should build some more job security with another quality showing Wednesday. If Foltynewicz and Julio Teheran (hamstring) also make it through their respective outings without any health concerns, there's a good chance McCarthy would remain in the bullpen beyond this week. While he hasn't been a complete disaster this season (4.89 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 60 strikeouts in 73.2 innings), McCarthy probably hasn't performed well enough for the Braves to justify deploying a six-man rotation.
