Darren Scott McCaughan ( ; born March 18, 1996) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

, and

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2021 for the Mariners.

Amateur career

McCaughan attended

Los Alamitos High School Los Alamitos High School (also known as Los Al) is a public school for grades 9 to 12 located in Los Alamitos, California, and also serving the city of Seal Beach and the community of Rossmoor. It is the only high school in the Los Alamitos Uni ...

Los Alamitos, California is a city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,780 at the 2020 census, up from 11,449 at the 2010 census. The USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center is located on the Joint Forces Tr ...

. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Long Beach State University California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

during his junior year in 2013. As a junior, he went 6–4 with a 2.96 ERA. Undrafted out of high school in the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

, he enrolled at Long Beach State where he played

for the Dirtbags. As a freshman at Long Beach State in 2015, McCaughan went 4–2 with a 2.47 ERA in 23 games (three starts). In 2016, as a sophomore, he pitched to a 10–1 record with a 2.03 ERA in 16 starts, earning the title of

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

Pitcher of the Year. He was named an All-American by multiple outlets including

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') was an American publication based in Arizona that considered itself the "voice of amateur baseball" and was published for over 40 yea ...

and Perfect Game. That summer, he played for the

USA Baseball The United States Baseball Federation, doing business as USA Baseball, is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that acts as the national Sports governing body, governing body for baseball in the United States. USA Baseball ...

Collegiate National Team. In 2017, a junior, McCaughan compiled a 9–2 record with a 2.50 ERA in 17 starts. He was named Big West Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year along with being named an All-American by D1Baseball among various other media sources. After the year, he was drafted by the

in the 12th round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

McCaughan signed with Seattle and made his professional with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is comp ...

, going 0–1 with a 3.75 ERA in 12 innings. He spent the 2018 season with the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

, where he pitched to a 6–10 record and a 3.05 ERA in 25 starts and was named an All-Star. He also made one spot start for the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in June. He began 2019 with the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, with whom he was named an All-Star alongside earning the title of Texas League Pitcher of the Year after going 7–5 with a 2.89 ERA over 17 starts. In July, he was promoted to Tacoma, going 0–6 with an 8.09 ERA over nine starts. McCaughan did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He returned to Arkansas to begin the 2021 season, now members of the

Double-A Central The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. After one start, he was promoted to Tacoma, now a part of the

Triple-A West The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Base ...

. On July 21, 2021, McCaughan was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day pitching in relief against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, throwing five innings in which he gave up no hits and one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

while walking three batters. He made two appearances for Seattle, working to a 8.00 ERA with 2 strikeouts. On October 22, the Mariners removed him from the 40-man roster and sent him outright to Tacoma. In 2022, McCaughan made 28 starts for Tacoma, posting an 8-9 record and 4.55 ERA with 141 strikeouts in 154.1 innings pitched. He was assigned to Tacoma to begin the 2023 season. On April 11, 2023, McCaughan had his contract selected to the active roster. In three appearances for Seattle, he recorded a 5.40 ERA with 10 strikeouts across 5.0 innings of work. McCaughan was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on February 7, 2024, following the waiver claim of Canaan Smith-Njigba.

Miami Marlins

On February 9, 2024, McCaughan was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. He was optioned to the Triple–A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

to begin the 2024 season. McCaughan made one appearance for Miami, surrendering eight runs on nine hits with two strikeouts across innings against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He was designated for assignment by the Marlins on May 5.

Cleveland Guardians

On May 9, 2024, McCaughan was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. In two games for Cleveland, he surrendered six runs on nine hits with one strikeout across six innings pitched. McCaughan was designated for assignment by Cleveland on June 30.

Miami Marlins (second stint)

On July 7, 2024, McCaughan was claimed off waivers by the

. In 10 total games for Miami, he compiled a 5.75 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 2 saves over 36 innings pitched. On November 1, McCaughan was removed from the 40–man roster sent outright to the minors. He elected free agency the same day.

Minnesota Twins

On December 4, 2024, McCaughan signed a minor league contract with the

. On March 31, 2025, the Twins selected McCaughan's contract, adding him to their active roster. In 3 appearances for Minnesota, he posted a 1.69 ERA with 6 strikeouts across innings pitched. McCaughan was designated for assignment following the promotion of Scott Blewett on April 7. He elected free agency after clearing waivers on April 10. However, McCaughan re-signed with the Twins on a minor league contract the following day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaughan, Darren 1996 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Long Beach, California Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Minnesota Twins players Modesto Nuts players Seattle Mariners players St. Paul Saints players Tacoma Rainiers players