Jake McCarthy was sitting on the couch in his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife Sophie on Saturday morning. They were celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary when his phone rang. It was his agent with the news that he had been traded.
The Scranton native was dealt by the Arizona Diamondbacks to fellow National League West Division rival the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Josh Grosz. Both teams announced the trade on X.
Just two days earlier, McCarthy signed a one-year, $1.525 million deal with the Diamondbacks to avoid arbitration.
“Pretty crazy morning. Whenever something like that happens, it catches you off-guard,” McCarthy said. “After my agent called, I told my friends and family and then they (the teams) went public with it about an hour later. Obviously some big changes.”
With the Diamondbacks having a surplus of outfielders, McCarthy repeatedly was the subject of trade rumors the past year or two. Now that it happened, he looks forward to playing in Colorado.
“You accept that things could change very, very quickly,” McCarthy said. “Obviously, when you get the call, you’re kind of like, Whoa! But I can’t express how excited I am to get to Colorado. We played those guys a bunch in division. I really think they have a good group of young guys who are getting better and better.”
Last season was a rough one for McCarthy. He started 0 for 24 before getting his first hit and was batting .073 (3 for 41) through 14 games when the Diamondbacks sent him down to Triple-A Reno. In 49 games with the Aces, he batted .314 (65 for 207) with 43 runs, 15 doubles, four triples, one home run, 16 RBIs and 12 for 15 in stolen bases. He was recalled by Arizona in June and batted .204 (42 for 206) with 18 runs, seven doubles, five triples, four home runs, 20 RBIs and 6 for 6 in stolen bases in 67 games.
“Last year wasn’t great,” McCarthy said. “I was grateful to have the opportunity to go to camp this year and do what I think I’m capable of doing. All the motivation factors are still the same, it’s just in a different place.”
A Scranton High School graduate and University of Virginia product, McCarthy was drafted in the first round — 39th overall — by Arizona in 2018. He made his MLB debut April 27, 2021, and in five seasons with the Diamondbacks, he batted .260 with 339 hits, including 24 home runs, 139 RBIs, 185 runs and 83 stolen bases in 431 games.
He has a lot of fond memories of his time with the Diamondbacks and said he will miss his teammates the most.
“A lot of good friends. I was actually with a few guys from the team (Friday) night watching the football game,” McCarthy said. “A lot of us live out here. There’s a lot of guys on that team that I kind of grew up with, got drafted with, climbed the ranks through the minors. I think that’s the hardest part of it all. When you sign up for this job, you understand things can change at the drop of a hat. Saying goodbye to people I’ve been around the last six years is definitely tough. Same thing with my wife. She made a ton of friends with the other wives and things like that. That’s certainly going to be different, but really, really excited to get to work in Colorado. I really liked playing there. It’s one of my favorite parks to visit.”
McCarthy joins a Rockies outfield that includes Brenton Doyle, Mickey Moniak and Jordan Beck.
“I’m very excited to walk into a building in February and have a shot to contribute and earn a job and show people what I can do,” McCarthy said. “Obviously I want to be involved, but there’s no expectation. I want to go out and earn it and show people what I’m capable of.”
Ironically, the Rockies and Diamondbacks share the same spring training facility in Scottsdale, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. So things won’t seem too different when McCarthy heads to spring training.
“I’ve got to drive like 100 yards past where I have been turning in,” McCarthy said.
“It will be weird going to Arizona as a visitor.”
Colorado is scheduled to make its first trip to Arizona on May 21-24.
As for Josh Grosz, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB draft and part of the deal that brought third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Yankees at last season’s trade deadline. In a combined 23 games (22 starts) with High-A Hudson Valley and Spokane, he was 5-14 with a 4.67 earned-run average, 55 walks and 135 strikeouts in 125.1 innings. He ranked 20th in the Rockies’ farm system according to MLB Pipeline.
