Brandon McCarthy Rumors: Latest Buzz and Speculation Surrounding Star Pitcher

Brandon McCarthy has already pitched for five teams since entering the bigs in 2005. It appears he could be heading for a sixth. According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired the veteran starter:

Rosenthal was the first to report the deal was close.

McCarthy, 31, split last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees. After seeing his performance noticeably drop in his season-and-a-half in Arizona, McCarthy got into a groove upon his arrival in the Big Apple.

Andy Martino of the New York Daily News had more on what the Yankees are willing to do to keep McCarthy:

In 14 starts, McCarthy had a 7-5 record and 2.89 ERA, helping keep a below-average Yankees team in the playoff hunt. He put together a better wins above replacement (ESPN formula) in his three months in New York than he did his entire time with the Diamondbacks, which proved to be a failed experiment.

A consistently solid option when healthy for Oakland in 2011 and 2012, McCarthy struggled in his first National League experience. He put together an 8-21 record over 40 total starts, a byproduct of his own struggles and the Diamondbacks' consistently disappointing offensive performance. The Yankees needed to send out only fringe prospect Vidal Nuno to land McCarthy in July, where he put together his best string of starts since being hit in the head by a line drive during the 2012 season.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The Yankees' interest level in retaining him long-term is unclear, but McCarthy seemed open to getting a deal done in September.

"You don't have to be the biggest name to be the first domino to fall," McCarthy told reporters. "You could be at the beginning or the end and at some slot in the middle. I've been focused on what I am doing, but soon it could be time to weigh what's going on. I feel if I got the right offer, I'd be willing to sign early in the process."

McCarthy also played for the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers, where he mixed in relief and starter's work. At his best, McCarthy is among the most prolific ground-ball pitchers in baseball. In 2014, he set a career-best mark of 52.6 percent, per FanGraphs, echoing the work he'd done a year prior with the Diamondbacks. Underlying numbers say McCarthy's run in Arizona was marred more by bad luck than any regression on his part, with his FIP being markedly lower than his earned run average.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

That said, McCarthy may be stuck waiting on the free-agent market for a while. Any big-market team looking for starting pitching help will start with the All-Star duo of Max Scherzer and James Shields, each of whom is likely headed for nine-figure paydays. McCarthy, if he doesn't get an early-bird contract offer, will likely be part of the third wave of pitchers teams target, along with Ervin Santana, Jake Peavy and others.

Whichever team signs McCarthy should wind up with a solid mid-rotation arm who is much closer to the player he showed in New York than Arizona.

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