T.J. McFarland DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Athletics placed left-hander T.J. McFarland (groin) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 12) with a left-adductor strain and optioned right-hander Elvis Alvarado to Triple-A Las Vegas, the team announced. The club also reinstated right-hander Michael Otanez (shoulder) from the 15-day IL and recalled right-hander Jason Alexander from Las Vegas. McFarland was pulled from his latest outing after covering first base on a groundout on Sunday against the New York Yankees. The 35-year-old southpaw reliever will now be on the shelf for at least the next two weeks. The former fourth-rounder by the Cleveland Guardians in 2007 has not been anywhere near the fantasy radar and heads to the IL with an ugly 5.23 ERA (3.50 FIP) and 1.74 WHIP with four strikeouts and three walks in his 10 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the A's have re-signed relief pitcher T.J. McFarland on a one-year contract. McFarland posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with a 17:39 BB:K across 56 2/3 innings of work. Under the hood, he carried a stellar 59.4% ground-ball rate and was able to maintain soft contact at a 4.6% barrel rate and a 34.9% hard-hit rate. However, he struggled in generating whiffs, as he posted a mere 16.6% strikeout rate, one of the lowest marks among qualified pitchers. Fantasy managers should expect McFarland to return to his high-leverage role pitching in the seventh or eighth innings of games, but he will have his save opportunities capped with Mason Miller poised to return to his closer role.

The Oakland Athletics acquired minor-league left-hander T.J. McFarland from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday in exchange for cash considerations and selected his contract from Triple-A Las Vegas to their 40-man roster. The 34-year-old southpaw was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the fourth round in 2007 and he has 11 years of major-league experience with five different teams, including the A's back in 2020. McFarland made three appearances out of the New York Mets' bullpen in 2023 and has a career 4.14 ERA (4.20 FIP), a 1.47 WHIP, one save, 154 walks and 279 strikeouts in 474 innings in his 11 major-league seasons. Now with the rebuilding A's, McFarland certainly has a much better chance at contributing at the big-league level again in 2024 now that he's out of LA.