Athletics Designate T.J. McFarland For Assignment

The Athletics announced today that right-hander Elvis Alvarado has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. Left-hander T.J. McFarland has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. They also announced their release of Seth Brown, which MLBTR covered yesterday. The 40-man roster count drops to 38.

McFarland, 36, was also with the A’s last year. He posted a solid 3.81 earned run average in 2024, with his usual blend of low strikeout totals but high numbers of ground balls. The two sides reunited for 2025 on a one-year deal worth $1.8MM.

Unfortunately, things have been far less pleasant this year. The veteran lefty has made 27 appearances here in 2025 but has logged just 15 2/3 innings with a 6.89 ERA. It’s not quite as bad as that number would suggest. A .393 batting average on balls in play and 66.2% strand rate aren’t helping him, which is why his 4.61 FIP and 3.81 SIERA are far more pleasant numbers. However, his 9.5% strikeout rate is low, even for him. He has a 13.7% strikeout rate in his career and was at 16.6% just last year.

On the other hand, he is still getting those grounders. This year, opponents are pounding the ball into the dirt at a 61.3% clip. That’s right in line with his career rate of 61.7%. Major league average is usually around 42%, give or take, so that’s clearly a strong range to be in.

Perhaps McFarland would fit better on a club with stronger defense. The A’s have a collective -20 Outs Above Average this year, tied with the Nationals for worst in the majors. Their -37 Defensive Runs Saved tally is ahead of only the Rockies. Perhaps that explains some of the poor batted ball luck and difficulties stranding runners.

But given his poor results and salary, he’s likely to end up a free agent shortly. Clubs will be reluctant to claim him off waivers, as doing so would mean absorbing what’s left of the contract. If he clears waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping that salary intact. It’s possible the A’s skip that formality and release him.

If he does end up a free agent, the A’s would be on the hook for his salary. Another club could then sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the A’s pay. At that point, it’s possible a club takes a shot on a bounceback.

McFarland has 546 1/3 big league innings under his belt with a 4.18 ERA, thanks largely to that ability to keep the ball on the ground. It has been backfiring on him this year but, as mentioned, it could work out better somewhere else. With the trade deadline still a month away and bullpen upgrades difficult to come by at the moment, there may be clubs willing to take a cheap flier on the veteran to see how it plays out.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images