The 2016 season turned into a roller coaster ride for Brandon McCarthy, and he now looks to wipe the slate clean. With an opportunity to compete for a spot in the starting rotation, McCarthy is in need of a strong showing in Spring Training to separate himself from other candidates.
McCarthy pitched well last season upon returning from Tommy John surgery in June. He progressed toward providing some stability in the Dodgers’ rotation, only for his season to take a turn for the worse.
The right-hander allowed a combined four earned runs through his first four starts back (22.1 innings pitched), going 2-0. However, McCarthy then allowed 18 earned runs and issued 17 walks in 17.2 innings over his next six appearances (five starts).
He recently was among the pitchers to throw live batting practice at Camelback Ranch, which left Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi impressed, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“His execution was perfect [Tuesday] in his live BP,” said Zaidi. “That’s the guy I knew in Oakland who could just execute pitches at such a high level. For me, watching him, execution is key, more important than what the radar gun is showing. If he continues to execute the way he did today, that’s a great sign.”
McCarthy is part of a heated battle for the final two spots in the starting rotation. His competition includes Scott Kazmir, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brock Stewart, Ross Stripling and to a lesser extent, Julio Urias.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts already ruled out the possibility of the club utilizing a six-man rotation during the regular season. Though, they invariably could do so by using the 10-day disabled list.
McCarthy reportedly was made available for a potential trade during the offseason, but there never appeared to be much traction gained on that front. He was said to have been a included in a proposed deal to acquire Ryan Bruan from the Milwaukee Brewers last August.
McCarthy is 5-3 with a 5.29 ERA, 4.62 FIP and 1.32 WHIP in 14 games (13 starts) over parts of two seasons with the Dodgers.
