5-time All-Star outfielder comes relatively cheap
The rubble from a 98-loss season had not even settled when the Giants promised to build a 2018 team that could compete for the playoffs, rather than blast the thing apart and start over.
They backed their words last month by trading for third baseman Evan Longoria. On Monday, they eliminated the last strand of doubt when they acquired center fielder Andrew McCutchen from the Pirates in a three-player trade.
The Giants are parting with reliever Kyle Crick and outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds. They also will send the Pirates $500,000 in in-
ternational bonus-slot space. The Pirates will cover $2.5 million of the $14.5 million McCutchen will earn in 2018, the end of a six-year, $51.5 million contract.
In acquiring Longoria and McCutchen, the longtime faces of their franchises, though seemingly past their primes, the Giants traded their first or second picks from three of their past seven drafts. Christian Arroyo went to Tampa Bay in the Longoria trade.
Still, they filled two important needs and added significant right-handed power without trading their top prospects: outfielders Heliot Ramos, Chris Shaw and Steven Duggar, and pitchers Andrew Suarez, Chris Stratton and Tyler Beede. That places the Giants in position to get younger as soon as 2019, whether their all-out blitz to contend in 2018 succeeds or fails.
McCutchen, 31, adds a desperately needed outfielder to a lineup that finished last in the majors last year in runs and homers. The 2013 National League Most Valuable Player hit 28 home runs in a bounceback 2017 season, batting .279 with a healthy OPS+ of 121.
McCutchen has been durable, playing in at least 153 games in all eight of his full big-league seasons, compiling 203 homers and 171 steals.
He is a five-time All-Star, though he was not chosen in 2016 and 2017.
Former Giants reliever George Kontos, with the Pirates for the final two months last year, said McCutchen remains dangerous.
“Cutch is one of those quiet leaders,” Kontos said. “He also might have the quickest hands that I’ve seen. It’s impressive what he can do with a bat in his hand and how dynamic his presence can be in the lineup.”
Giants officials plan to discuss the deal in a conference call Tuesday, but general manager Bobby Evans in a statement called McCutchen a “remarkable talent” who will be a “difference-maker” in the lineup.
McCutchen tweeted his feelings, saying, “Now...I’m a Giant! I’ve always enjoyed watching the success of the @SFGiants and I look (forward) to being a part of more this season. Can’t wait to meet my new teammates and fans. This is just the beginning ...”
Pirates owner Bob Nutting called the decision to trade McCutchen “emotionally agonizing.”
The big unanswered question Monday was where McCutchen will play. He is not viewed as a prime center fielder anymore. The defensive metrics hate him, and even the Pirates decided after 2016 to shift him to right, a move that lasted less than three weeks when new center fielder Starling Marte drew an 80-game suspension for performanceenhancing drugs.
McCutchen remained in center the rest of the season, even after Marte returned.
Should the Giants choose to sign or trade for a different center fielder — or a back-end starter or reliever to replace Crick’s power arm — the $2.5 million coming from the Pirates could help them achieve their goal of staying under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold.
If the Giants promote the fleet Duggar and he can handle center, McCutchen easily could shift to a corner.
The Giants have accelerated talks with free-agent center fielder Lorenzo Cain, but barring another salary dump, they could not sign him and stay under the threshold. The Giants also would lose two draft picks and $1 million on international-slot space because the Royals gave Cain a qualifying offer.
It’s not clear how McCutchen’s acquisition will affect talks for Cain, Billy Hamilton or other potential center fielders.