Cleveland Guardians Add Pitcher Darren McCaughan in Trade With Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins have traded right-handed pitcher Darren McCaughan to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for cash considerations, according to the teams’ transaction logs.

Cleveland transferred right-handed pitcher Gavin Williams from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list with right elbow inflammation in order to make room for McCaughan on the 40-man roster. Because there was no room left on the active 26-man roster, however, McCaughan was immediately optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.

Miami designated McCaughan for assignment on Sunday.

This marks the second time in three months that McCaughan has been traded. He was sent from the Seattle Mariners to the Marlins on Feb. 9 in exchange for cash considerations.

McCaughan was the Mariners’ 12th round pick out of Long Beach State in the 2017 MLB Draft. The righty showed promise in his first few years of minor league action, posting a 3.72 ERA between 2018 and 2019, but he never broke onto the MLB Pipeline’s list of Seattle’s top 30 prospects.

From there, McCaughan’s production plateaued, as his ERA sat at 4.52 over the next two minor league campaigns. He joined the Mariners in the big leagues in 2021, but he allowed eight earned runs in just 9.0 innings of work.

McCaughan spent all of 2022 in Triple-A before returning to the majors in 2023. In three relief appearances, McCaughan posted a 5.40 ERA, 2.000 WHIP and 18.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

In his lone MLB outing with the Marlins in 2024, McCaughan allowed nine hits, three walks, three home runs and eight earned runs in 4.2 innings against the Oakland Athletics on May 4. Miami lost that game 20-4.

The 28-year-old will give the Guardians some organizational depth at starting pitcher, even if his big league track record isn’t particularly encouraging. In the five professional seasons he played between 2018 and 2023, he tossed a total of 733.1 innings, or 146.2 a year.

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