Mere minutes after my last post about the trade of Andrew Heaney to the Angels for Howie Kendrick, the Los Angeles Dodgers had another domino fall late on Wednesday night as they announced the signing of pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a four-year, $48 million deal.
Source: McCarthy four years, $48M with #Dodgers.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2014
The right-hander struggled in Arizona to begin the 2014 season, the final year of a two-year pact he signed with the Diamondbacks. He was traded to the New York Yankees at the deadline and made good on his solid peripherals. While he had a 5.08 ERA in the desert, he had a 2.89 ERA in New York, striking out nearly a batter an inning and having a fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.31.
McCarthy will slot in well with the Dodgers rotation, sitting now as the No. 4 starter behind Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. He has pitched better than his ERA would indicate the last two years, with his xFIP averaging nearly a full run less than his ERA. He’ll also move from smaller ballparks in Arizona and New York to a better pitching ballpark in Chavez Ravine.
In one day, the Dodgers got a new shortstop, a new second baseman and a new starter. Andrew Friedman has begun his quest to make the Dodgers a model franchise and has made a bevy of smart moves to help his team achieve exactly that.
