Headlines

  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
  • Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Kevin McCarthy

Cubs, Kevin McCarthy Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | March 1, 2022 at 11:05am CDT

The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with former Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. He’s represented by Pro Agents Inc. and, presumably, will be in big league camp once Spring Training gets underway.

The 30-year-old McCarthy spent parts of the 2016-20 seasons in the Kansas City bullpen, logging a combined 191 2/3 innings of 3.80 ERA ball along the way. His career 14.5% strikeout rate is well below the league average, but McCarthy’s 7.4% walk rate is strong and his 58.7% ground-ball rate would place him among the league leaders in any given season. That said, after averaging 94 mph on his sinker as a rookie in 2016, the former 16th-rounder has seen his velocity drop annually — bottoming out at an average of 90 mph in his six innings of 2020 work.

McCarthy was passed through outright waivers following that 2020 season and elected minor league free agency. He signed a minor league pact with the Red Sox and spent the first several months of the season in their system before being released in mid-August. He latched on with the White Sox on another minor league deal and tossed another 7 2/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate.

On the whole, the 2021 season wasn’t a good one for McCarthy, who was hit hard with both Sox organizations — posting an ERA north of 7.00 at each stop. He finished the year with 43 innings of 7.12 ERA ball in Triple-A. McCarthy did, however, post a 20.3% strikeout rate that’s a good bit higher than his prior strikeout rates, and he did so while maintaining a superlative walk rate (4.4%) and a strong ground-ball rate (48%). There’s little harm for the Cubs to bring him in on a nonguaranteed pact to see if he can maintain the strikeout gains while doing away with some of the alarming rise in hits allowed (which was fueled, in part, by a sky-high .408 BABIP with the Red Sox’ top affiliate).

As it stands, the Cubs’ bullpen picture ought to be wide open. The only relievers on the roster with more than a year of big league experience are Rowan Wick, Codi Heuer and Brad Wieck. Left-hander Justin Steele, 26, and right-hander Scott Effross, 28, both had strong showings in limited samples out of the bullpen and could have the inside track on relief gigs at the moment, but there’s plenty of opportunity for McCarthy and other minor league signees (e.g. Jonathan Holder, Eric Yardley) to grab a spot with some strong work either in Spring Training or early in the Triple-A season. The Cubs could well sign a veteran reliever or two post-lockout, but even in that event, there’s still room for a non-roster player or two to win a job in camp.

Share 0 Retweet 16 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Transactions Kevin McCarthy

24 comments

White Sox Sign Kevin McCarthy

By Anthony Franco | September 7, 2021 at 10:24pm CDT

The White Sox have signed reliever Kevin McCarthy to a minor league contract, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

McCarthy pitched in the majors with the Royals every season from 2016-20. He has never gotten swings and misses at the rate one might expect from a reliever, but the sinkerballer has always racked up grounders in bunches and had a couple seasons where he was successful at keeping runs off the board. Over 191 2/3 big league innings, McCarthy owns a 3.80 ERA with a 58.7% ground-ball rate that dwarfs the 43.2% league average for bullpen arms.

Kansas City outrighted McCarthy off the 40-man roster last winter and he elected free agency. The 29-year-old latched on with the Red Sox on a minor league deal and spent most of the year with Triple-A Worcester. He struggled to a 7.13 ERA over 35 1/3 frames, although McCarthy’s peripherals (20.6% strikeout rate, 3.5% walk percentage, 49.6% grounder rate) were far better than that run prevention figure might suggest. The Red Sox released McCarthy last month.

Because Chicago didn’t sign McCarthy until after August 31, he won’t be eligible for the team’s postseason roster. He’ll be on hand as high minors relief depth for the regular season’s final couple weeks instead. If the White Sox don’t add McCarthy to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency again this winter.

Share 0 Retweet 13 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Transactions Kevin McCarthy

18 comments

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/30/21

By Mark Polishuk,Steve Adams and Connor Byrne | March 30, 2021 at 11:50am CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Shortly after the Mariners released righty reliever Matt Magill, the team brought him back on a two-year minors pact, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets.  Magill has appeared in the majors in parts of five seasons (including with the Mariners in 2020), and put up a 4.63 ERA in 149 2/3 innings with strikeout, walk and groundball rates that have rated below average.  His season came to a premature end last September when he underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
  • Nationals first baseman Jake Noll and right-hander Dakota Bacus went unclaimed on the waiver wire and have been reassigned to minor league camp, as per a team announcement.  The duo were both recently designated for assignment.  The 27-year-old Noll has received 30 MLB plate appearances with Washington and batted .276/.300/.345 in that tiny sample, while also hitting .285/.327/.410 over 489 PA at the Triple-A level.  Bacus, meanwhile, yielded 10 runs through 11 1/3 innings in his MLB debut last year. The 2012 ninth-rounder has had a respectable ERA and strong ground-ball rate at virtually every minor league stop but has never missed bats at a high rate or limited walks all that effectively.  Both players will stick with the Nats as depth options.
  • Right-hander Kevin McCarthy will remain in the Red Sox organization, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The former Royal’s minor league contract with the Sox included an upward mobility clause that would have enabled him to leave the organization had he not earned a 40-man roster spot, but McCarthy will now report to Triple-A.  McCarthy appeared in only five games in 2020 but the groundball specialist was a steady member of the Royals pen from 2017-19, posting a 3.65 ERA and 59.5% grounder rate over 177 1/3 innings (154 games) in that three-season stretch.
Share 0 Retweet 3 Send via email0

Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners Transactions Washington Nationals Dakota Bacus Jake Noll Kevin McCarthy Matt Magill

4 comments

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/12/20

By Connor Byrne | November 12, 2020 at 9:06pm CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Red Sox have inked right-handed reliever Kevin McCarthy to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. McCarthy will earn an $825K salary if he makes the majors in 2021. The 28-year-old appeared in the bigs with the Royals in each season from 2016-20, and despite a meager 5.63 K/9, he recorded a 3.80 ERA/4.11 FIP in 191 2/3 innings. McCarthy has three seasons of between 45 and 70 innings under his belt, but after a 2020 in which he threw a mere six frames, the Royals outrighted him.
  • The Angels have signed infielder Kean Wong and righty Jake Reed to minors contracts with invitations to MLB camp, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. A fourth-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2013, Wong’s only major league experience came when he went 3-for-18 with the Rays and Angels in 2019. Wong does, however, own a respectable .286/.350/.413 line in 1,425 Triple-A plate appearances. The 25-year-old is the younger brother of free-agent second baseman Kolten Wong, whom the Angels have shown interest in this offseason. Reed entered the pro ranks as a Twins fifth-rounder in 2014, but he hasn’t gotten to the majors yet. The 28-year-old appeared at the Triple-A level from 2016-19, during which he logged a 3.68 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 over 164 innings.
Share 0 Retweet 2 Send via email0

Boston Red Sox Los Angeles Angels Transactions Jake Reed Kean Wong Kevin McCarthy

27 comments

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/30/20

By Anthony Franco | October 30, 2020 at 9:49pm CDT

Rounding up some minor moves around the game:

  • Royals left-hander Mike Montgomery and right-hander Kevin McCarthy cleared outright waivers and have elected free agency, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). Montgomery, 31, was limited to 5.1 innings in 2020 due to a lat injury, derailing his chance of cementing himself in the Kansas City rotation. McCarthy was an oft-used bullpen piece in 2019 but only got into five games last season. Additionally, Kansas City claimed righty Carlos Sanabria off waivers from the Astros, per Flanagan (Twitter link). The 23-year-old reliever performed well in the high minors in 2019 and made his MLB debut in this year.
  • The Twins claimed right-hander Ian Gibaut off waivers from the Rangers, per an announcement from Texas. The 26-year-old pitched to just a 6.57 ERA in 12.1 innings this year but was once a well-regarded relief prospect. He comes with one option year remaining. Fellow Texas righty Luke Farrell cleared outright waivers.
  • The Twins also claimed left-hander Brandon Waddell off waivers from the Pirates, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Pirates’ catchers John Ryan Murphy and Luke Maile, utilityman Kevin Kramer, right-hander Yacksel Rios and outfielder Jason Martin all cleared outright waivers, per an announcement from Pittsburgh.
  • The Mets claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Pirates, per an announcement from Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old pitched in seven games with a 1.15 ERA for the Pirates in 2020. He’s projected for a salary just under $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Nationals announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Steven Fuentes. The 23-year-old pitched to a 2.69 ERA/2.24 FIP in 63.2 Double-A innings in 2019 and would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Baseball America ranks Fuentes the #27 prospect in the Washington system.
  • The Cubs announced that they have claimed infielder Max Schrock via waivers from the rival Cardinals. Chicago also outrighted lefty Rex Brothers to Triple-A Iowa. Schrock picked up just 17 plate appearances for St. Louis in 2020 and collected three hits (two singles and a homer). Brothers, 32, threw only 3.1 innings with the Cubs and allowed three earned runs.
  • Speaking of the Cardinals, they announced outright assignments for righty Nabil Crismatt and lefty Ricardo Sanchez. Crismatt was successful for the Cardinals in 2020, notching 8.1 frames of three-run ball with eight strikeouts and one walk. Sanchez had some difficulty across 5.1 innings, though, as he gave up four earned runs and issued five walks.
Share 0 Retweet 1 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Washington Nationals Brandon Waddell Carlos Sanabria Ian Gibaut J.R. Murphy Jason Martin Kevin Kramer Kevin McCarthy Luke Maile Max Schrock Mike Montgomery Nabil Crismatt Nick Tropeano Rex Brothers Ricardo Sanchez Yacksel Rios

22 comments
Show all
    Top Stories

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Recent

    Buddy Kennedy Elects Free Agency

    Giants Place Erik Miller On IL, Select Scott Alexander

    Yankees Sign Jeimer Candelario To Minor League Deal

    Giants Activate Matt Chapman, DFA Sergio Alcantara

    Nationals Reinstate Mason Thompson From 60-Day IL

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Rangers To Sign Rowdy Tellez To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Likely To Promote Cam Schlittler

    Astros Sign Hector Neris

    Dodgers Not Planning To Add Third Base Help Before Deadline

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version