Season In Review continues and this morning’s subject is another reliever. Right-hander Scott McGough didn’t start the year with the A’s but he did finish the year as a member of the Athletics’ bullpen.
How Was He Acquired?
The 36-year-old began the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks but didn’t last long with them. After getting DFA’d mid-season the right-hander landed with the A’s on a minor league deal on June 14th, signing on for the rest of the 2025 season.
What Were The Expectations?
A former
5th-round draft pick way back in 2011, McGough has a few years of pitching under his belt in the majors. There is a major gap in his resume as he made his big league debut in 2015 but then spent the better part of eight years trying to make his way back to The Show. When he finally did in 2023 he was on the Diamondbacks and he spent most of the year in their bullpen as a member of their World Series-bound club. He was a workhorse for them that year, making it into 63 games for the D-backs. He returned the next year but was much less effective.
While he doesn’t have much major league experience for a 36-year-old reliever, he’s generally been much better at Triple-A. The A’s felt like they could take a flyer on the right-hander and perhaps coax some better results from him in the major leagues. Adding an arm like McGough’s could boost the bullpen the rest of the way.
2025 Results
His spring did not earn him a spot in Arizona’s Opening Day bullpen, instead beginning the season with their Triple-A affiliate. He pitched well over the first month, which earned him a promotion back to Arizona. Unfortunately the struggles he’s had in the majors showed up again as he made it into six games and gave up five runs in just seven innings of work. They decided to cut bait with him on June 5th, designating the right-hander for assignment. He’d elect free agency a few days later, returning to the open market in the middle of the season.
While he probably was hoping to latch on with a contender in need of bullpen reinforcements, he instead chose to ink a minor league pact with the A’s to wrap up the year. Starting again in Triple-A, McGough again showed promise against minor league hitters. Across 19 appearances for the Aviators he pitched to an even 3.00 ERA, putting him on the radar for a call-up.
That call came on September 1st when rosters expanded. Acting as an extra arm out of the bullpen for manager Mark Kotsay, McGough got into six games for the A’s split across two stints with the club with each lasting three appearances. In his first stint he gave up runs in each of his three outings (5 total), earning himself a ticket back to Triple-A. The second stint, which came just over two weeks later, was better but still not great. In his final three outings for the A’s he allowed two runs in two of his appearances. He did finish his year with a scoreless appearance for the Athletics but still finished the campaign with a bloated 6.75 ERA in 16 games split between the D-backs and Athletics.
2026 Outlook
McGough is now a free agent, looking for his next new team. That could wind up being the Athletics and if the A’s want to bring him back it would only likely cost a minor league deal. The club has really stocked up on that type of bullpen depth all offseason long though so it may be prudent for McGough to take a look out there and see if there’s a more open path to a big league bullpen. And if he doesn’t find a suitable landing spot he may end up calling it a career as well, taking his memorable 2023 season with him into retirement.
