September 5, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy (32) leaves the field with a trainer after being hit in the head on a line drive by Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar (not pictured) during the fourth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Sussan Slusser is reporting that A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy went through 20 hours of rigorous testing and has been cleared for all baseball activity. Doctors concluded that McCarthy is now back to where he was last spring training.

On September 5th, McCarthy was hit on the head by a line drive off the bat of the Angels’ Erick Aybar. He was down for a couple minutes, but all seemed fine when he walked off the field on his own power.

However, things took a turn for the worse when he was checked in the hospital. McCarthy underwent surgery for two hours to relieve cranial pressure after CT scans revealed McCarthy had suffered an epidural hemorrhage, a brain contusion, and a skull fracture. In other words, he needed life-saving brain surgery.

The great news is that he has been cleared to pitch again, and can now begin talking to prospective teams interested in his services. McCarthy is a free agent, and after a stellar performance last season (8-6, 3.24 ERA), there will be plenty of teams calling up his agent.

The Chronicle reports that the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and the Toronto Blue Jays have interest in the veteran pitcher.