True Blue LA - Dodgers sign Brandon McCarthy for 4 years, $48 millionWhere The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2014-12-16T19:45:56-08:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/71521442014-12-16T19:45:56-08:002014-12-16T19:45:56-08:00Dodgers betting on McCarthy's shoulder
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<p>LOS ANGELES -- <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> reached 200 innings in 2014 for the first time in his 10-year career. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> are waging $48 million that he can do it again, and again, signing the 31-year-old right-hander to a four-year contract on Tuesday.</p>
<p>It was just the second time McCarthy has pitched more than 135 innings in a season, but general manager Farhan Zaidi, who was in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/">Athletics</a>' front office during McCarthy's time in Oakland, in 2011-2012, thinks the right-hander has turned a corner.</p>
<p>"Injury histories and medical histories are part of the equation, but we have to consider with pitchers. [Dodgers director of medical services] Stan Conte has very involved in our process of evaluating health histories and health risks going forward. With any pitcher, it's part of the cost-benefit analysis," Zaidi said on Tuesday. "There are times you want to bet on a guy for the long term because you believe he can meet or even exceed his expectations over the long haul."</p>
<p>Betting on McCarthy seems risky, given that hitting the disabled list was an annual occurrence for him, almost one for which you could set an appointment. McCarthy hit the disabled list 11 times in seven years, from 2007-2013, including eight times for his right shoulder.</p>
<p>Some time near the end of May, just about every year, McCarthy would either have inflammation or a stress fracture of his scapula in his right shoulder (the latter the result of too much built-up inflammation). In 2009, his last start before the disabled list was June 4. In 2010 it was April 24. Then May 18. Then May 17. Then May 30.</p>
<p>Every year, he would end up on the disabled list. At least once.</p>
<p>"I tried so many different little things to fix my shoulder. The old standard shoulder strengthening programs, I tried different throwing routines," McCarthy explained, "But I think those avoided the main issue, which just might have been having enough raw strength to withstand the rigors of a major league season."</p>
<p>On Sept. 5, 2012, McCarthy suffered another injury, this time not a shoulder issue. He was struck by a line drive off the bat of <span>Erick Aybar</span>, and suffered an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture, and missed the rest of the season. Since it was September, McCarthy wasn't placed on the disabled list, but it was still a very serious injury.</p>
<div class="pullquote">"Look at you, you have the upper body of a teenage boy. Let's try to get you bigger and stronger." <span>-Brandon McCarthy's trainer, after the 2013 season</span>
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<p>The next year, with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>, while on the disabled list again with right shoulder soreness, McCarthy <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9357497/brandon-mccarthy-arizona-diamondbacks-ok-having-seizure">suffered a seizure at a restaurant in Scottsdale</a>, related to the head injury, and was put on anti-seizure medication.</p>
<p>McCarthy lost 13 pounds after the seizure, and said he felt tired at the end of the year, which saw him pitch 135 innings and make 22 starts, right around his average for the previous three years. He was fed up and decided to make a change, so he talked to a neighbor in Dallas who ran a gym.</p>
<p>"I finally got to a point of realizing I needed to get bigger and stronger," McCarthy recalled. "I found a trainer who agreed. He said, 'Look at you, you have the upper body of a teenage boy. Let's try to get you bigger and stronger.'</p>
<p>The 6'7 skinny pitcher was <i>too</i> skinny.</p>
<p>""I don't think I was ever strong enough upper body wise. I don't think I was strong enough in the back or shoulder," McCarthy said. "I'm very tall and skinny and one of the general maxims of baseball is that you don't lift upper body as a pitcher and you don't do it the way I needed to."</p>
<p>McCarthy knew things were going to be different when in May he didn't feel any pain or discomfort in his shoulder. There would be no early disabled list trip this season, or one at all.</p>
<p>"I'm dealing with something different now, and I might be in the place I've wanted to be for so long," he recalled thinking at the time.</p>
<p>Not only did McCarthy change his offseason workout; he altered his routine throughout the season as well.</p>
<p>He used to throw every day in between starts, but in 2014 he wouldn't pick up a baseball for two days after his start, instead lifting weights to maintain upper body strength throughout the year.</p>
<p>"It was a combo of rest and heavy lifting," McCarthy said. "It worked really well last year. I felt fresh all the way through."</p>
<p>The result was 200 innings on the nose, nearly 30 more than he has thrown in any other year. His average fastball increased from 90.8 mph to 92.9 mph, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4662&position=P#pitchtype">per FanGraphs</a>, and his peripherals — 175 strikeouts, just 35 walks, 3.55 FIP, 2.87 xFIP, 52.6-percent ground ball rate — were better than his 4.05 ERA showed.</p>
<p>"For us, the proof is in the pudding. He got over 200 innings last year. Just as informatively, he added 2 mph to fastball, which is pretty unheard of for a guy at his age, a starting pitcher to do that," Zaidi said. "Just his ability to strengthen his upper body, to make himself into a more durable pitcher, we feel pretty good about him turning the corner. He has the ability to carry that kind of workload into the future."</p>
<p>McCarthy agrees.</p>
<p>"I've gotten to about as confident as I can possibly be," he said of his right shoulder.</p>
<p>The Dodgers certainly hope so.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/16/7388095/brandon-mccarthy-shoulder-dodgersEric Stephen2014-12-16T14:06:14-08:002014-12-16T14:06:14-08:00Brandon McCarthy contract details
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<p>LOS ANGELES -- The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> made official the signing of free agent pitcher <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> to a four-year contract on Tuesday, worth $48 million. Thanks to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/dylanohernandez/status/544945152373317633">we have the contract details</a>.</p>
<p>McCarthy will get a $6 million signing bonus, plus salaries of $11 million in 2015, $11 million in 2016, $10 million in 2017 and $10 million in 2018.</p>
<p>The signing bonus will be paid in equal installments on Jan. 15 and Feb. 15, 2015, <a target="_blank" href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9351676f3d6c45d8b07fb178af2c1623/mccarthy-and-dodgers-finalize-4-year-contract">per the Associated Press</a>, which also reported a conditional club option for 2019:</p>
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<p>The Dodgers get some injury protection in the form of a conditional club option at $5 million if he spends 180 or more days on disabled list as a result of an injury to his pitching shoulder related to stress fracture or a reaction injury during 2015-18. The option price would increase to $8 million if the DL time is from 120-179 days from 2015-18.</p>
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<p>The right-hander made $9 million in 2014 in the final season of a two-year, $15.5 million contract.</p>
<p>The $17 million outlay for McCarthy in 2015 puts the Dodgers <a target="_blank" href="http://www.truebluela.com/2013/10/21/4861112/los-angeles-dodgers-payroll">at roughly $229 million for next year</a>, before considering any money received in the <span>Jimmy Rollins</span> trade or the salaries of the five remaining players eligible for salary arbitration. Of course, it is still only Dec. 16, still two months from spring training beginning, and nearly four months from opening day.</p>
<p>General manager Farhan Zaidi stopped short of saying the Dodgers were done for the offseason after their flurry of moves of late.</p>
<p>"Today we have a better feel for and a greater comfort level for what our 25-man roster might look like. We addressed a lot of points of need. But it's hard for me to say we're done or we feel like we've done everything we need to do," Zaidi said on Tuesday. "Even in this process, over the last month or so, moves we didn't think were possible came to the forefront and we were able to execute on. I think it's possible that other opportunities could wind up being things we think about a week, two weeks or a month from now."</p>
<p>Looking down the road a bit, the Dodgers now have $108 million committed to seven players (<span>Clayton Kershaw</span>, <span>Zack Greinke</span>, <span>Adrian Gonzalez</span>, McCarthy, <span>Yasiel Puig</span>, <span>Hyun-Jin Ryu</span> and Erisbel Arruebrrena) in 2018.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/16/7387651/brandon-mccarthy-contract-detailsEric Stephen2014-12-16T12:17:00-08:002014-12-16T12:17:00-08:00Dodgers DFA Wilson
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<p>LOS ANGELES -- The new <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> front office is not shy about shedding deadweight from the roster whenever possible, no matter the cost. The latest example came Tuesday, with relief pitcher <span>Brian Wilson</span> getting designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for <span>Brandon McCarthy</span>, whose <a target="_blank" href="http://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/16/7388153/brandon-mccarthy-dodgers-official-announcement">four-year deal was finalized earlier in the day</a>.</p>
<p>Wilson had a disappointing 2014 season for the Dodgers, putting up a 4.66 ERA in 61 games, with 54 strikeouts and 29 walks in 48⅓ innings. He earned $10 million in 2014, and exercised a $10 million player option to return in 2015. Now, it appears the Dodgers will eat that salary for him not to pitch in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>The Dodgers are also paying approximately $12.5 million to Miami to cover the salaries of the traded <span>Dan Haren</span> and <span>Dee Gordon</span>, and will pay a reported $32 million of Matt Kemp's remaining salary as he plays in San Diego, a deal that is expected to be finalized this week.</p>
<p>"The contract is the contract. We don't want to be sort of tied down by financial obligations," Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said on a conference call on Tuesday. "We're just trying to build the best team we can for 2015."</p>
<p>That best team does not include Wilson, who was pushed further down the depth chart with moves made this offseason by the Dodgers, including the additions of <span>Joel Peralta</span>, <span>Juan Nicasio</span> and <span>Chris Hatcher</span>.</p>
<p>"With some of the bullpen additions we made bringing in Peralta, Nicasio, Hatcher, we felt particularly with the right-handed relievers we had some depth and options we were comfortable with," Zaidi said. "There was a little bit of a surplus."</p>
<p>Wilson saw a drop in his velocity during the season, down to 91.18 mph on average in August and 89.75 mph in September, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brooksbaseball.net/velo.php?player=451216&b_hand=-1&gFilt=&pFilt=FA%7CSI%7CFC%7CCU%7CSL%7CCS%7CKN%7CCH%7CFS%7CSB&time=month&minmax=ci&var=mph&s_type=2&startDate=03/21/2014&endDate=09/28/2014">per Brooks Baseball</a>. But Zaidi said Wilson's right arm had nothing to do with the move.</p>
<p>"We've been keeping tabs on him in the offseason. This was not a move made out of any medical concern. It was related to performance," Zaidi said. "Every move we make is about putting the best team on the field we can for 2015. "At this point, we didn't feel like he was one of the best seven reliever options we had."</p>
<p>The Dodgers have 10 days to decide what to do with Wilson. They can try to trade him, though it seems unlikely the club would get much if anything for him, even paying his entire salary, or eventually place him on waivers, which he will undoubtedly clear, leading to his release. But it is clear Wilson won't be pitching with the Dodgers any longer.</p>
<p>"We have had conversations with other clubs leading up to this to see if there is interest out there," Zaidi said. "We have a few days to sort that out."</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/16/7403941/brian-wilson-dfa-dodgersEric Stephen2014-12-16T10:57:04-08:002014-12-16T10:57:04-08:00Dodgers make McCarthy deal official
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<p>LOS ANGELES -- The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> made official their deal with <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> on Tuesday, signing the right-handed pitcher to a four-year contract worth a reported $48 million.</p>
<p>The 31-year-old right-hander was 10-15 with a 4.05 ERA in 32 starts with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> in 2014, with 175 strikeouts and 35 walks in 200 innings, including 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts with New York.</p>
<p>The right-hander was born in Glendale and his family resided in Pasadena until age 11. He grew up idolizing Orel Hershiser, and will now have Hershiser call his games.</p>
<p>"There was nothing that didn't intrigue me about the Dodgers," McCarthy said. "I grew up 10 miles from the stadium. The Dodgers were what I knew, they were what I looked up to as a kid."</p>
<p>McCarthy in the last four seasons has a 3.81 ERA in 97 starts with the A's, Diamonbacks and Yankees, a 102 ERA+, <a target="_blank" href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/pEfQ7">ranking 48th among the 90 major league pitchers</a> with at least 500 innings during that span. Peripherally he has been better, ranking <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=500&type=8&season=2014&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=17,a">21st in FIP (3.44)</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=500&type=8&season=2014&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=18,a">17th in FIP (3.43)</a>.</p>
<p>Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said the free agent market dictated a four-year contract for McCarthy.</p>
<p>"We are looking for some long-term solutions. We have Clayton here for the long haul, Ryu as well. Zack has the ability to opt out after this year, and if he has another year like he had this past season that's a real possibility," Zaidi said. "There are times you want to bet on a guy for the long term because you believe he can meet or even exceed his expecations over the long haul."</p>
<p>McCarthy missed all of 2010 with a stress fracture in his right shoulder, but it serves as a dividing line for his career, in which he is almost two different pitchers. In 2012, <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7602264/oakland-brandon-mccarthy-writing-moneyball-next-chapter-reinventing-analytics-espn-magazine">McCarthy recalled to ESPN the Magazine</a> his interest in sabermetrics and reading sites like FanGraphs.</p>
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<p>"The more I read, the more it just made sense," he says. "I wanted ground balls and worse contact. I wanted to attack the zone and get deep into games." By the time McCarthy came off the DL in September 2009, he'd made a decision: He was going to become <span>Roy Halladay</span>."</p>
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<p>McCarthy had a career-high ground ball rate of 52.6 percent, and the difference in his career is notable. From 2005-2009, McCarthy's ground ball rate was 36.4 percent, but from 2011-2014 it rose to 47.8 percent.</p>
<p>"There was no starting pitcher that I felt more comfortable with out on the mound during my time in Oakland and than Brandon, just because of his intelligence, his attention to detail and his game planning, plus his command," Zaidi said. "I don't think we had a starting pitcher in my time there who was better at executing a game plan than Brandon. When you are in a front office there is nothing that gives you more comfort than a guy you know who will execute the game plan you want to execute."</p>
<p>McCarthy at 6'7 is tied for the second-tallest Dodgers pitcher ever, alongside <span>Aaron Harang</span> and Rick Sutcliffe to name a few. McCarthy is one of <a target="_blank" href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/yRPpG">eight Dodgers pitchers at least 6'7</a>, with former NBA player <span>Mark Hendrickson</span> topping the list at 6'9.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/16/7388153/brandon-mccarthy-dodgers-official-announcementEric Stephen2014-12-15T00:48:41-08:002014-12-15T00:48:41-08:00Brandon McCarthy changes Twitter avatar<img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yU8-UMrLtMXMUFLU7plAxWYicsY=/410x410/cdn.vox-cdn.com/fan_shot_images/366072/obScqEl1.jpeg" />
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>Brandon McCarthy's <a href="https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32" target="new">new Twitter avatar</a> is pretty funny, and gave a hint that his reported four-year, $48 million contract with the Dodgers just might be official soon. His wife <a href="https://twitter.com/Mrs_McCarthy32/status/544392622929104897" target="new">Amanda's reaction on Twitter was funny</a>, too: "I left you alone for 15 mins and you did that to your picture? You're a terrible artist.. Like really bad."</p></p></div>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/15/7393101/brandon-mccarthy-twitter-photoEric Stephen2014-12-13T13:03:38-08:002014-12-13T13:03:38-08:00Brandon McCarthy is a big Vin Scully fan
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<p>New <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> pitcher <span>Brandon McCarthy</span>, whose four-year, $48 million contract is <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/543865994159345664">reportedly down to final detail stage before becoming official</a>, will likely add to his media collection soon. McCarthy will soon have most of his games called by his favorite announcer, Vin Scully.</p>
<p>McCarthy, one of the most engaging and entertaining follows on Twitter, has let his love of Scully known for years.</p>
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<p>Vin Scully is better at announcing baseball than anybody is at doing anything else.</p>
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) <a href="https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/187439327394004992">April 4, 2012</a>
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<p>Today Vin Scully announced a game that I pitched in and that makes this a very nice Tuesday.</p>
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) <a href="https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/215341676108070912">June 20, 2012</a>
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<p>McCarthy would listen to Scully call Dodgers games growing up in Pasadena until he was 10, when <a href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7602264/oakland-brandon-mccarthy-writing-moneyball-next-chapter-reinventing-analytics-espn-magazine" target="new">his family moved to Colorado in 1994</a>.</p>
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<p>Vin Scully is the voice of baseball in my mind, and if he's yours as well, you'll really enjoy this article <a href="http://t.co/BEOLIRtNAb">http://t.co/BEOLIRtNAb</a></p>
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) <a href="https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/473705923031339008">June 3, 2014</a>
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<p>In 2011 when Joe Posnanski <a target="_blank" href="http://joeposnanski.com/joeblogs/baseball-on-fox/">solicited help on Twitter asking which two announcers people would rather have call the World Series</a> than the then Fox duo of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, McCarthy chose Vin Scully and somebody to bring Scully water.</p>
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<p>HR derby needs VIn Scully so bad. Tell us some stories. Introduce us to these players.</p>
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) <a href="https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/488880305986887680">July 15, 2014</a>
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<p>In an <a target="_blank" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/answer-man-brandon-mccarthy-talks-beaning-shoulder-twitter-202517362--mlb.html">interview with Dave Brown at Yahoo Sports in 2013</a>, McCarthy said he'd love to keep an aural record of games he pitched with Scully on the call:</p>
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<p>DB: When you pitch against the Dodgers and Vin Scully calls the game, would you wear an earbud to follow along?</p>
<p>BM: No, but those are actually games that I’ll try to get on DVD, or something. Download. Put it on the Cloud. Somewhere that I can watch when I’m done with my career. Because I’ve at least got one and hopefully I can get some more this year. I would love to go back and watch those. I didn’t watch the one from this past year. Just to have Vin Scully say your name and discuss it. There’s very few things that I’ll go back and watch when I’m done playing, or memorabilia I’ll keep. But those would be ones that I’d love to sit down and listen to.</p>
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<p>So far in his career, McCarthy's teams are 3-1 in his four games pitched with Scully on the call. McCarthy has a 4.11 ERA with 15 strikeouts against only three walks in 26⅓ innings, and McCarthy has lasted at least six innings in all four starts.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/13/7387853/brandon-mccarthy-vin-scullyEric Stephen2014-12-10T21:05:00-08:002014-12-10T21:05:00-08:00Dodgers reportedly close to 4-year McCarthy deal
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<p>SAN DIEGO -- The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> have reportedly maxed out their frequent shopper card at the winter meetings on Wednesday, closing in on yet another transaction. The team is close to a four-year contract with starting pitcher <span>Brandon McCarthy</span>, per <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/542897400767971328">Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports</a> and confirmed by <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/542901072193282049">Jon Heyman of CBS Sports</a>.</p>
<p>The deal is worth a reported $48 million, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/542924881457713153">per Rosenthal</a>.</p>
<p>McCarthy had a sneakily good season in 2014, the first fully healthy campaign of his career. The right-hander was 10-15 with a 4.05 ERA between the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>. His peripherals were much better, with 175 strikeouts and only 35 walks in 200 innings. McCarthy ranked 35th among 88 qualified starters in MLB with a 3.55 FIP and ninth with a 2.87 xFIP.</p>
<p>Four years is a long time for the 31-year-old McCarthy, who has averaged 24 starts and 154 innings in the last four seasons. In addition to suffering a skull fracture from a line drive off his head that knocked him out of the final 26 games of 2012, it's McCarthy's right shoulder that has been the brunt of the problem.</p>
<p>McCarthy was on the disabled list six times in five years from 2009-2013 for shoulder, missing an average of 58 games per year. But he was fully healthy in 2014, and productive, and that got him a four-year deal.</p>
<p>Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi was in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/">Athletics</a> front office during McCarthy's two seasons in Oakland, in 2011-2012, and it sounds like the two were close.</p>
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<p>Neat seeing Brandon McCarthy signing with the Dodgers; he and Farhan Zaidi talked metrics a lot with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Athletics?src=hash">#Athletics</a>.</p>
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) <a href="https://twitter.com/susanslusser/status/542900196904935424">December 11, 2014</a>
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<p>At the moment, McCarthy slots in at the fourth spot in the Dodgers starting rotation, behind <span>Clayton Kershaw</span>, <span>Zack Greinke</span> and Hyun-jin Ryu. But again, it is only December 10, and the Dodgers likely have much more up their sleeve.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/12/10/7375391/brandon-mccarthy-contract-dodgersEric Stephen