Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy hasn’t exactly been having the best season. His performance on Friday against the Padres, in which he allowed one run over seven innings, lowered his ERA to 5.11. After the game, however, the start was said to have boosted his trade value.
Asked by the media about the possibility of being traded, McCarthy said “it certainly seems likely”, but it’s not something he worries about. Via Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Southwest:
“At this point, you become an asset the other way. Right now as a Diamondback, sometimes your best value is your future value and what they can get for you. I totally understand that side of the game. You accept it as reality, but it is not something I sit and worry about all the time, check every rumor. Just let it happen, and when I get a phone call and that happens, there you go.”
Along with the 5.11 ERA, McCarthy has an 87/18 K/BB ratio (a career-best) in 104 innings. Teams that have embraced newer methods of player evaluation may see McCarthy as a cheap buy-low option. ERA estimators such as FIP paint him to have been a much better pitcher than his results have indicated since he joined the Diamondbacks.
