After releasing T.J. McFarland last week, the Cardinals announced that the veteran left-hander has been re-signed to a minor league deal. McFarland will report to the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis.
Now in his second season with the Cards, McFarland pitched well in 2021 but has struggled to a 6.61 ERA over 32 2/3 frames this season. Low-strikeout pitchers who heavily rely on ground balls are perhaps more prone to big swings in performance, and in McFarland’s case, an increase in hard contact, a jump in BABIP (from .261 in 2021 to .333 this year), and a decrease in grounder rate (53% this season, 63.7% in 2021) have all combined to ruin McFarland’s performance. His strand rate is also an abnormally low 60.4%, and his walk rate is also up from last season.
McFarland’s sinker (his primary pitch) is the best illustration of how his performance has tended to vary over his 10 MLB seasons. When the southpaw had a 2.00 ERA over 72 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2018, McFarland’s sinker was one of the most effective pitches in all of baseball, and he also had great success with the pitch in 2021. When the sinker isn’t only an average or below-average pitch, however, batters have feasted.
Retaining McFarland on a minors contract is a low-risk move for the Cardinals, as some time in Triple-A could help the 33-year-old get back on track. St. Louis has plenty of other left-handed options in their bullpen for the stretch run and potentially into the playoffs, but a McFarland who can rediscover his 2021 form would give the Cardinals another nice depth option.