McCUTCHEN SENT TO SAN FRAN
The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday for right-hander Kyle Crick, minor-league outfielder Bryan Reynolds and US$500,000 in international signing bonus allocation. Pittsburgh also sent US$2.5 million to cover part of McCutchen’s US$14.75-million salary. The 31-year-old, who is a former NL MVP and was long the face of the Pirates franchise, became the second star jettisoned by Pittsburgh in three days. Ace Gerrit Cole was traded to the Houston Astros on Saturday. Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said the trade was “one of the most emotionally agonizing decisions that we have had to make in my tenure.” During McCutchen’s time in Pittsburgh, the Pirates ended a 20-year post-season drought in 2013 and made three straight playoff appearances before falling to 78-83 in 2016 and 75-87 last year.