D-backs Send Jake McCarthy to Minors Amid Struggles at the Plate

The Diamondbacks sent down struggling outfielder Jake McCarthy to Triple-A Reno on Monday. In his first 14 games, he went 3-for-41 (.073) at the plate with just one extra-base hit and a .268 OPS.

The demotion is a setback for McCarthy, who established himself as the primary center fielder in 2024. He was coming off a year in which he hit .285 with eight home runs and a .749 OPS. That, combined with Alek Thomas struggling with a hamstring injury and never really recovering in 2024, opened the door for McCarthy to take over.

At the end of Spring Training, the Diamondbacks broke camp with both McCarthy and Thomas on the Opening Day roster. It was going to be a tough juggling act to play both guys, who are left-handed hitters. With Thomas getting off to a better start at the plate, he started getting more playing time on the team's recent road trip.

For McCarthy, the issue stems from poor quality of contact. His hard-hit rate, batted balls with an exit velocity of 95.0 MPH or greater, is down to 16.7%. While he's never been over-reliant on hitting the ball hard for his offensive game, it's still nearly 10% below his career average of 26.1%.

Another troubling trend with his batted ball data is that his fly ball rate is up, at the expense of his line drive rate. His opposite-field air contact sits at 22.2%, suggesting he's hitting fly balls to the opposite field for easy outs. On the eight batted balls that are opposite field, all hit in the air, he's got one double and seven flyouts.

That was a problem that McCarthy dealt with in 2023, a year in which he was sent down to Triple-A twice to work on his swing. Like this season, he went through an early slump in which he hit .143 with a home run and a .467 OPS in 23 games. That year, he had an opposite air contact rate of 22.8%.

McCarthy is at his best when he's spraying line drives from foul line to foul line. That's where his speed puts the most pressure on the opposing defense and gives him the best chance of getting a hit. Then he can create chaos on the basepaths as both a distraction and a noted basestealer, with three consecutive seasons with at least 23 stolen bases.

With the difficulties of rostering both players from a roster construction standpoint, the team eventually decided to move forward with Thomas as their primary center fielder. While the Diamondbacks have yet to announce a corresponding move, outfielder Jorge Barrosa is likely to be called up, according to Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro.

Barrosa makes more sense as a fifth outfielder. As a switch hitter, he gives the Diamondbacks more coverage against left-handed pitching without having to sacrifice speed or defense in center field.

The hope is, as in 2023, that McCarthy can make the necessary adjustments in Reno. He'll have a chance to play every day and get consistent reps to work on his swing and improve the quality of contact. Getting McCarthy back to what he does best should help lengthen the lineup and help the bottom part of the order put pressure on the opposing pitcher.

D-backs Send Jake McCarthy to Minors Amid Struggles at the Plate

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