Athletics Re-Sign T.J. McFarlan Athletics Re-Sign T.J. McFarlan

Novemeber 8: McFarland is guaranteed a $1.8MM base salary, reports. The deal comes with another $250K in bonuses based on appearances. McFarland would unlock $50K in his 50th game and would receive another $100K apiece at 60 and 70 appearances. November 7: The As are bringing left-handed reliever back ahead of their expected move to West Sacramento next year. The team announced Thursday theyve agreed to terms with the free agent southpaw on a one-year deal for the 2025 season. McFarland is represented by Octagon. McFarland, 35, spent the 2024 season in the As bullpen and was a reliable source of quality innings. He appeared in nearly half the teams games Tyus Jones Jersey (79) and pitched to a 3.81 ERA with a below-average 16.6% strikeout rate but strong walk and ground-ball rates of 7.2% and 57.3%, respectively. McFarland stymied left-handed opponents with a .234/.267/.324 batting line, though righties had an easier time with him, slashing .273/.364/.414 on the season. This will be McFarlands 13th season in the majors, and a suming he sticks on the roster for at least 122 days, hell reach the coveted 10 years of major league service time over the course of the 2025 campaign. The sinker-heavy southpaw carries a lifetime 4.10 ERA in the majors and has never been adept at mi sing bats (13.9% career strikeout rate, and career-high 18.2% mark in 2023). However, hes one of the games premier ground-ball specialists (career 61.7%, and career-high 67.9% back in 2018) and has only thrice logged a worse-than-average walk rate in his lengthy career. Somewhat incredibly, McFarland will become the only player on the As roster who has a guaranteed salary for the upcoming season. The rest of the roster includes four arbitration-eligible players , , and but the rest of the players on the teams 40-man roster have not yet even reached arbitration and thus do not have a salary locked in for next year. The As are widely expected to spend some money this offseason, be it via free agency or by acquiring players on guaranteed deals via the trade market, as theyll need to spend a fair bit of cash in order to retain their status as a revenue-sharing recipient. McFarland returns to a bullpen that lacks any real definition beyond star closer . Righty posted nice numbers but did so as a 30-year-old rookie, making him something of a wild card. Hard-throwing righty notched a 3.44 ERA and fanned 36.4% of his opponents in 34 innings but also walked 13.2% of the hitters he faced. Twenty-seven-year-old Lefty turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in 72 1/3 innings but had sub-par strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (in addition to a disastrous 7.14 ERA in a comparable sample of innings in 2023). Given the lack of defined roles beyond Miller, its likely the As will have multiple additions on the bullpen front. For now, McFarland looks like a candidate to work in some leverage spots against lefties who wont be lifted for a pinch-hitter by the opposing manager. That said, As skipper typically used McFarland in low- and medium-leverage spots in 2025, so hes not nece sarily someone the team will throw right into full-on setup work. The As could have some troubles drawing free agents to the team as they gear up to host home games in a Triple-A park for the next several seasons (a suming financing on their planned Las Vegas stadium is eventually finalized). But McFarland knows the team and the staff well, and for the well-traveled lefty, this new one-year deal offers him the opportunity to pitch consecutive seasons for the same team for just the second time in a span of seven seasons. Theres obvious appeal in continuity for a pitcher whos also spent time with the D-backs, As, Cardinals and Mets (plus a spring training with the Nationals) since 2019. Its also just the second guaranteed deal hes signed in whats now five times through the free-agent proce s, so jumping early at a big league opportunity is both sensible and makes for a more relaxed offseason than the veteran southpaw is typically accustomed. Gorgui Dieng Jersey