The lefty pitched to a combined 2.30 ERA at Triple A with the Orioles and Mets last year.
Welcome back, T.J.!
The Oakland Athletics announced today that they acquired T.J. McFarland from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations. The team added him to the 40-man roster, which almost guarantees he’ll be in the major league bullpen on Opening Day.
The Oakland A’s acquired minor league left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations and selected him to the 40-man roster.
— Oakland A’s Communications (@AthleticsPR) March 26, 2024
Now 34 years old, McFarland should be familiar to Athletics Nation as he threw 20 2⁄3 innings for the A’s during the shortened 2020 season, working to a subpar 4.35 ERA/6.34 FIP and a miniscule 9.8% K-rate, second-lowest in the league out of all relievers with at least 20 IP. He also had a 59.7% GB%, which was 11th-highest and probably worked best with the A’s Gold Glove infield.
For the majority of the 2023 season, the southpaw pitched for the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles’ Triple-A affiliates. He finished with a strong 2.30 ERA/3.38 FIP and nearly tripled his strikeout rate to a strong 25.2% rate. McFarland also has a 1.35 ERA so far this spring with 7 strikeouts and no walks in 6 2⁄3 innings.
With McFarland and Adams both acquired to essentially replace Scott Alexander, Trevor Gott, and Sean Newcomb went down with injuries, the bullpen situation is much clearer than it was a couple of days ago. The depth chart should look something like this:
Closer/Setup: Dany Jimenez, Mason Miller, Lucas Erceg
Middle Relievers: Austin Adams, T.J. McFarland, Zach Jackson
Long Relievers: Mitch Spence, Kyle Muller
There can be changes depending on how the competition for the fifth rotation job shakes out and whether Michael Kelly or Tyler Ferguson can steal one of those middle relief slots.