Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been traded to the San Francisco Giants. The deal is pending review of medical records, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. As Jon Heyman and Robert Murray of FanRag Sports tweeted, talks between the Giants and McCutchen intensified quickly leading up to the trade.
#SFGiants have agreed to acquire Andrew McCutchen from the #Pirates, pending a review of medical records, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 15, 2018
San Francisco Giants Acquire Andrew McCutchen
As reports start coming in, Alex Pavolic, Andrew Baggarly, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale have tweeted the Pirates will be receiving RHP Kyle Crick and outfielder Bryan Reynolds in exchange for McCutchen. Crick finished last season with Triple-A Sacramento and recorded a 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings. He collected six saves and 39 strikeouts. Reynolds had a great season with San Francisco’s High-A ball club. He slashed .312/.364/.462, with 10 HR and 63 RBI in 540 plate appearances for the San Jose Giants. However, Robert Murray and Jon Heyman tweeted out that Tyler Beede and Heliot Ramos are not part of the deal.
Sources: Tyler Beede is NOT part of the McCutchen trade between the #SFGiants and #Pirates.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 15, 2018
The San Francisco Giants have acquired an upgrade in the outfield. Last season, McCutchen slashed .279/.363/.486, with 28 HR and 88 RBI, which is good for a 122 wRC+. The Giants ranked dead last in home runs last year, and collected only 128. Last year, their top home run hitter was Brandon Belt, who led the Giants in home runs with just 17. McCutchen is a four-time Silver Slugger winner and provides power to a lineup in desperate need of a power bat. He is a defensive upgrade as well. Although McCutchen posted a -14 DRS in the outfield last season, he’s an upgrade from Denard Span‘s -27 DRS. The 31-year-old won a Gold Glove award in 2012, when he posted a -6 DRS and -4.5 UZR.
In addition to being an upgrade in the outfield, McCutchen is a cheaper option. He’s on the last year of his six-year, $51.5 million deal; the Giants will only be paying $14.5 million. The Giants are known for finding cheaper deals, but with the gridlock that’s going on between teams and top free agents, San Francisco is better off trading for McCutchen rather than flirting with going over the luxury tax.
The Giants went into the offseason with a lot of question marks, but San Francisco has done a good job adding power to their line up. San Francisco also traded for third baseman Evan Longoria earlier this offseason. They’re a long way from catching the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, but adding established veterans will improve their offense.
UPDATE:
The Pirates also sent cash considerations to San Francisco in the deal. The Giants will be responsible for 12.5 million of McCutchen’s contract, and will transfer international pool money to Pittsburgh.
.@sfgiants acquire OF Andrew McCutchen, cash considerations from @pirates for OF Bryan Reynolds, RHP Kyle Crick, international bonus pool space. #HotStove pic.twitter.com/Tpl7lt4t4I
— MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) January 15, 2018
McCutchen will play right field for his new team.
Giants will put Andrew McCutchen in right field, Hunter Pence in left https://t.co/sYNL8egJKO
— Columnist Sports (@ColumnistSports) January 17, 2018
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