32 Brandon McCarthy SP

The Rangers hired McCarthy (knee) as special assistant to the general manager Tuesday, officially putting an end to his playing career.

The 35-year-old McCarthy will call it quits after injuries limited him to just 234.1 innings over the past four seasons. He'll finish his playing career with a 69-75 record and 4.20 ERA across parts of 13 seasons (1223.2 innings) with the seven different teams.

McCarthy (knee) won't pitch again in 2018, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

McCarthy suffered a setback during his rehab at the beginning of the month, and it's since been decided that there isn't enough time left for McCarthy to return to health in the next month. The 35-year-old declared that he'd retire following the 2018 season, so his baseball career appears to be over. He'll finish with a 4.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 1,223.2 innings through 15 years in the major leagues.

The Braves returned McCarthy from his rehab assignment after he aggravated 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.

McCarthy hasn't progressed to mound work since being placed on the 10-day disabled list June 28 with right knee tendinitis, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

McCarthy has been rehabbing at his home in Arizona over the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't seem as though he has made much notable progress in his recovery to this point. The right-hander is scheduled to rejoin the Braves on Thursday, at which time he'll likely be re-evaluated and potentially gain clearance to take the next step forward in his throwing program. Based on his current place in the recovery process, McCarthy may not be an option for the Atlanta rotation until at least mid-August.

McCarthy (knee) will not be ready to return from the 10-day disabled list next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

McCarthy landed on the disabled list with right knee tendinitis in late June and the issue apparently hasn't improved enough for him to return next week, likely extending his absence through the All-Star break. Max Fried is still expected to fill McCarthy's role in the Braves' starting rotation, assuming his blister issue doesn't cause further problems.

McCarthy was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with right knee tendinitis.

McCarthy threw only 74 pitches during Sunday's start against the Orioles and came into the start having not pitched in nine days. It remains unclear how long the veteran right-hander has been dealing with the injury, but he is now sidelined through the first week of July, if not longer.

McCarthy (6-3) earned the win Sunday against the Orioles, allowing three runs on five hits with no strikeouts across five innings. He struck out five.

McCarthy only allowed five men to reach on the day, but two of those hits happened to be home runs, which accounted for all the visitor's runs. Luckily he received plenty of early run support and left the ballpark with his first win in over a month. While his 4.92 ERA and 1.46 WHIP are nothing to write home about, McCarthy has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his last seven starts. These types of outings should be enough to earn the veteran a few more wins moving forward, with his next start scheduled Saturday against the Cardinals.

McCarthy will take the mound against the Orioles on Sunday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

McCarthy will be well rested for this start, with his last appearance coming against San Diego on June 15. The 34-year-old has been serviceable for the Braves this season, posting a 4.89 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with a 7.3 K/9 over 14 starts. With McCarthy set to pitch Sunday, Mike Foltynewicz (triceps) is now expected to come off the disabled list for Monday's game against the Reds.

McCarthy is expected to work out of the bullpen during the Braves' five-game slate this week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

With off days Monday and Thursday and Mike Foltynewicz (triceps) due to return from the disabled list Saturday against the Orioles, the Braves have elected to streamline their rotation this week. That decision will be most detrimental to McCarthy, who will forfeit his turn in the rotation Wednesday in Toronto to Anibal Sanchez. After tossing seven shutout innings his last time out to bring his ERA below 2.00 for the season, Sanchez seems to have leapfrogged McCarthy on the depth chart and should build some more job security with another quality showing Wednesday. If Foltynewicz and Julio Teheran (hamstring) also make it through their respective outings without any health concerns, there's a good chance McCarthy would remain in the bullpen beyond this week. While he hasn't been a complete disaster this season (4.89 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 60 strikeouts in 73.2 innings), McCarthy probably hasn't performed well enough for the Braves to justify deploying a six-man rotation.

McCarthy allowed two runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings against the Padres on Friday, striking out four and walking one in a no-decision.

McCarthy left the game with a 3-2 lead after throwing 80 pitches (51 for strikes). In four of his last six starts McCarthy has allowed no more than two runs, but his ERA still sits at a relatively high 4.89 on the year. Opponents are hitting .304 against the right-hander while also posting an .841 OPS against him (the second-highest OPS mark McCarthy has allowed in his career). His next start will be against the Orioles in a matchup at home.

McCarthy (5-3) took the loss against the Dodgers, giving up four earned runs on five hits over 4.2 innings, striking out four and walking one as the Braves fell 7-3 on Friday.

McCarthy's last three starts are a good illustration of his season so far, as he's sandwiched one quality start that saw him notch seven strikeouts in between two poor efforts in which he gave up nine earned runs in 10 innings. His 5.03 ERA and 1.49 WHIP suggest that unpredictable nature seems likely to persist throughout the season, making McCarthy a fundamentally risky fantasy play until there are signs of more consistency from start to start.

McCarthy allowed two runs on four hits across six innings in a no-decision Saturday against the Nationals. He struck out seven and didn't issue a walk.

McCarthy bounced back with a quality effort after getting knocked around for five runs in his previous start. He threw just 84 pitches -- 63 of which were strikes -- before getting the hook, which he admitted afterwards was because he was feeling a little fatigued due to the humidity, according to Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 34-year-old now owns a 4.83 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 52:19 K:BB through 63.1 innings (12 starts) this season. He'll face the Dodgers on the road next.

McCarthy allowed five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts through 5.1 innings in a no-decision during the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Mets.

McCarthy couldn't miss bats Monday, as he induced just three swinging strikes on 85 pitches. Although the right-hander has been mostly solid, having allowed three runs or less in all but three of his starts, his collapses in those three bad starts have been epic. He has now allowed five, six and eight runs in his three worst starts, good for a whopping 59 percent of McCarthy's 32 total earned runs allowed. While that might make the prospect of a good McCarthy enticing, his inconsistency -- and the stiff penalty for guessing wrong on which day will be his good one -- limits his value heavily in a fantasy context.

McCarthy (5-2) allowed one earned run on four hits while walking two and striking out five across 5.2 innings to earn the win Tuesday against the Phillies.

McCarthy remained one step ahead of the Phillies' lineup Tuesday night, retiring the first hitter to come to the plate in all six innings he pitched. He relied on groundball outs and a few timely strikeouts on the occasions that he found himself in a jam, with the only run crossing the plate on a Cesar Hernandez single in the fifth inning. After getting roughed up for 14 earned runs across 8.1 innings, McCarthy has now gone 11.2 innings and allowed only two earned runs in his past two starts.

McCarthy struck out eight and held the Cubs to just one run on five hits and two walks through six innings but was stuck with a no-decision Wednesday night.

McCarthy rebounded from a pair of stinkers his last two times out against Miami and San Francisco in which he allowed a combined 14 runs on 23 hits over just 8.1 innings. This time, facing one of the best offenses in the National League, McCarthy set a season high in strikeouts and fired his first quality start since his second time out, all the way back on April 6 against the Rockies. McCarthy still owns a 5.05 ERA, but he'll try to keep things trending in the right direction his next time out Monday against the Phillies.

McCarthy (4-2) gave up six runs on 11 hits in Friday's loss to the Marlins, striking out three and walking two in five innings.

This was the second consecutive loss for McCarthy, and he has allowed 14 runs across his last 8.1 innings. In his first six starts of the season, McCarthy went at least five innings and allowed no more than three runs. With the rough outing, the right-hander's ERA has swelled to 5.58 and opponents are hitting .331 off him. He'll look to get things right in his next start against the Cubs at home.