Left-hander Kirk McCarty is close to signing with the KBO League’s SSG Landers, according to a report from Ilgan Sports (hat tip to reporter Sung Min Kim). A deal will become official once McCarty passes a physical.
McCarty made his Major League debut in 2022, posting a 4.54 ERA over 37 2/3 innings for the Guardians. Eleven of McCarty’s 13 appearances came out of the bullpen, and he started getting some Triple-A usage as a multi-inning reliever after spending much of his pro career as a starter. Over his 425 1/3 innings in the minors, McCarty has a 4.30 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, and 7.26% walk rate.
These types of numbers were enough to give McCarty his first crack in the big leagues, but ultimately made him a little expendable in the pitching-deep Guardians farm system. McCarty was actually designated for assignment in July and claimed off waivers by the Orioles, but he pitched just one game with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate before he was DFA’ed again, and re-claimed by Cleveland. Prior to the 40-man roster deadline earlier this month, the Guards designated McCarty again and released him.
McCarty was a seventh-round pick for Cleveland in the 2017 draft, and he has spent his entire career in the organization apart from that one-week sojourn in the Orioles’ system. The move to the Korea Baseball Organization presents a whole new chapter for the 27-year-old, and perhaps a chance for McCarty to more firmly re-establish himself as a starting pitcher. Due to his lack of strikeouts, McCarty doesn’t really fit most MLB teams’ preferred model for a starter or a reliever, though he does have some quality spin rates on both his fastball and curveball.
Who?
Ken McCarthy, man. It’s in the article.
My point is, he’s a nobody, he’s irrelevant. No point in even writing about him. Non-story
Staff Sgt. Landers!!
Birdie, lol, I hear you man. That’s why I wrote his name incorrectly. Because nobody know who he is… I was just fooling around, man.
McCarty. I think I have his bb card…Oh, wait. No, it isn’t him.
I should have realized that, my bad
You do have the choice to read or not to read the articles posted here. So my point is, he’s more of somebody than you are. There’s a point in writing this article about him & not you.
I know who he is. You, not so much.
Sounds like you are talking about yourself
@BirdieMan, apparently he was good enough to make the Big Leagues, while you probably got winded typing your idiotic one word response.
Forever a legend in my book for shutting the door against Minnesota in that 15 inning game
Looks like Font could return to MLB after a dominant two seasons in KBO or is moving to NPB since Shawn Morimando was good as a mid season pick up out of the CPBL.
was hoping the Cubs might have signed him. They need lefties in the pen.
You could even say they are close to landing McCarty
David McCarty 1B -OF Twins