32 Brandon McCarthy SP

The Braves have returned McCarthy from his rehab assignment after aggravating his knee injury, and he'll remain on the 60-day disabled list.

The right-hander gave up two runs in two innings in his Friday assignment after two scoreless frames in his previous two turns for Triple-A Gwinnett. McCarthy will again wait out an injury as the team decides whether he'll rejoin the big-league roster and, perhaps, the rotation in 2018. The veteran holds a 4.92 ERA in 15 major-league starts.

McCarthy (knee) will start a rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.

McCarthy will progress to the next step in his rehab after being placed on the DL in late June due to right knee tendinitis. The 35-year-old still believes that he'll be able to rejoin the fold at the major-league level this season, but in a bullpen role instead of the rotation.

McCarthy (knee) announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the 2018 season, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. "If I was going to keep playing, a month and a half ago I would have had the surgery that cleans the [knee] and I'd be back next year just a little bit after spring [training]."

McCarthy has been on the disabled list with right knee tendinitis since late June and hasn't progressed as quickly as hoped, though he believes he'll be ready to contribute at some point in September. He recently resumed throwing off a mound and will face hitters in live batting practice Saturday before initiating a minor-league rehab assignment. Because of the extensive time he has missed in addition to the pedestrian numbers he had provided over his 15 starts with the big club this season, McCarthy will transition to the bullpen once the Braves bring him back from the 60-day DL. Staying healthy has been an issue for McCarthy throughout his time in the big leagues, but he has generally been a quality mid-rotation arm when he's been able to take the hill. Over parts of 13 seasons in the majors, McCarthy has gone 69-75 and accrued a 4.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 255 appearances (197 starts) with the White Sox, Rangers, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves.

McCarthy (knee) threw off a mound Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

This is an encouraging step for McCarthy, who has been on the disabled list since June 28 with right knee tendinitis. According to David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta, the right-hander is scheduled to throw live batting practice Saturday before hopefully being cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week. He's making adjustments that will hopefully allow him to return to the Braves in September, albeit as a reliever.

The Braves transferred McCarthy (knee) to the 60-day disabled list Sunday, David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta reports.

McCarthy has been on the shelf for more than a month with right knee tendinitis and has yet to progress to throwing bullpen sessions, so it was unlikely he would be ready to return from the DL in less than 60 days anyway. If the veteran right-hander incurs no further setbacks from the knee injury and is able to reach all the necessary benchmarks in his rehab, he'll likely rejoin the Braves when rosters expand in September. It's uncertain if he'll still have a rotation spot waiting for him once he's healthy, however.