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Andrew McCutchen

Phillies To Sign Andrew McCutchen

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The Phillies have a deal in place with free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic (Twitter link). The agreement is still pending a physical.

McCutchen will reportedly receive a three-year, $50MM contract that includes an option for a fourth season. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via Twitter), who first broke the news that the sides were in serious talks, reported the years, with Jon Heyman of Fancred reporting the guarantee and option year (Twitter links).

This contract lands above MLBTR’s predicted value for McCutchen, but falls right in line with our expectations of a three-year, $45MM pact. We had ranked Cutch just behind fellow open-market vets A.J. Pollock and Michael Brantley, each of whom remains unsigned at this stage.

For the Phillies, this is a stage-setting move that fills one need and creates quite a few new opportunities. The organization previously dealt for Jean Segura, meaning GM Matt Klentak has now slotted in new corner outfield and shortstop pieces — without moving on top free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. That’s not to say that pursuit of one of those players is out of the question at this point, but the Phils are certainly also now positioned to look elsewhere if they so desire. Certainly, there’s also an argument to be made that these splashes only make it more reasonable for the club to go big on another free agent.

There are innumerable possibilities, still, for the Phils. The team could conceivably deal just about any of its preexisting outfielders. Odubel Herrera, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr, Dylan Cozens, and Roman Quinn would all hold some degree of appeal elsewhere. Surely some of those players will remain, but the Philadelphia organization will likely seek to rearrange some other pieces to make further moves possible. In addition to several still-youthful position players, top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez has evidently been talked about in trade chatter, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

What’s clear, though, is that McCutchen will step into the Philadelphia lineup on most days in 2019. He certainly represents a quality addition, even if he’s no longer the superstar that he was when he was playing with the cross-state Pirates.

Since wrapping up a forgettable 2016 campaign, McCutchen has turned in consecutive solid seasons with the bat. In 1,332 plate appearances over the past two season, he’s slashing a combined .267/.366/.455 with 48 long balls. McCutchen did lag in the power department in 2018, with a year-over-year isolated slugging drop from .207 to .169, but made up for it with a 13.9% walk rate that’s just shy of his career peak.

McCutchen won’t be an option in center for the Phils, though his long experience there could come in handy at times. After a solid debut season in right field last year, he’ll be an upgrade defensively for a club that received atrocious glovework in the outfield last year from Rhys Hoskins, who is moving back to first base. If there’s one area that McCutchen slid most notably, though, it was in the baserunning department. Once a standout, he graded at a putrid -5.0 BsR in 2018. Of course, he also still swiped 14 bags, so perhaps that broader performance is more a blip than an indicator of a significant loss of athleticism.

Latest On Corner Outfield Market

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The focus of the corner outfield market remains on Bryce Harper, of course, but there are a few other significant players available. Regarding Harper, there’s not much in the way of news, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at how he could conceivably end up falling to the Dodgers, who are said to be pursuing high-end assets. Here, though, we’ll focus in on the next-best assets on the market.

The Phillies are “showing significant interest” in Andrew McCutchen, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly, representing a new connection for the former superstar. Cutch is nowhere near the player he once was, but that easy characterization can tend to obscure how good he still is.

Meanwhile, the Astros are said to be in on another top corner piece. Per Jon Morosi of MLB.com, via Twitter, the Houston organization has interest in Michael Brantley. That’s a bit of a surprising match, if only because the team is still paying top dollar to another veteran lefty corner outfielder in Josh Reddick, but perhaps Brantley could also spend some time at first base to increase his versatility.

Earlier in the offseason, both McCutchen and Brantley were connected to the ’Stros — though mostly as part of a group of significant free agents. The Houston plans have remained hard to figure to this point, with the team’s intentions regarding top prospect Kyle Tucker potentially weighing in their assessment of new acquisition targets.

MLBTR predicted that both McCutchen and Brantley would secure three-year, $45MM pacts. There’s no real clarity as of yet as to whether the market will support those or greater values.

Olney’s Latest: Goldy, Yanks, Astros, Pollock, Brantley, Cutch, Mariners

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It’s unclear whether the Diamondbacks will trade their franchise player, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, though Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription required) hears from rival evaluators that they are “intent” on dealing the 31-year-old. While Goldschmidt has consistently been one of the majors’ best players during his career, it’s unlikely the Diamondbacks would receive a significant haul in exchange for his final year of team control, observes Olney, who notes that most contenders aren’t seeking a first baseman. But St. Louis and Houston continue to show a good amount of interest in Goldschmidt, per Olney, which jibes with a previous report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Olney adds that rival clubs believe the Astros have seemingly tried to move young right-hander J.B. Bukauskas, their eighth-ranked prospect at MLB.com, in trade talks. Similarly, the Yankees were “pushing”  left-handed pitching prospect Justus Sheffield in Goldschmidt discussions, Olney reports. Sheffield’s no longer in the picture for New York, though, as it traded him to Seattle this week in a deal for lefty James Paxton.

  • Back to Houston, which has been shopping near the top of the market for free-agent outfielders, according to Olney, who lists A.J. Pollock, Andrew McCutchen and Michael Brantley among their targets. Unless the Astros deem soon-to-be 22-year-old prospect Kyle Tucker ready for a full-time role, they have an opening in the outfield, where George Springer and Josh Reddick are their only obvious starters. Signing Pollock, a center fielder, would enable them to move Springer back to a corner after he spent the majority of 2017-18 in center. Pollock’s likely to rake in the biggest payday of the trio, though; further, given that Pollock comes with a qualifying offer attached, adding him would also cost the Astros their second-highest draft pick in 2019 and $500K in international pool space.
  • The Mariners have been the most active team on the trade market this offseason, having already dealt Paxton and catcher Mike Zunino. With aggressive general manager Jerry Dipoto at the helm and the M’s desire to take a step back in 2019, more trades involving their veterans are likely on the way. However, it continues to look as though the Mariners will keep their two top players, outfielder Mitch Haniger and closer Edwin Diaz. It would take overwhelming offers for the Mariners to seriously consider moving either Haniger or Diaz, Olney tweets. Both stars are controllable for the next four years, including another pre-arbitration season apiece.

MLBTR Readers Predict Teams For McCutchen, Kikuchi, Donaldson, And More

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MLBTR’s free agent prediction contest closed on November 18th, and earlier this week we ran through our readers’ team predictions for each of the top ten free agents.  Now, let’s check out another batch of reader picks:

11.  Andrew McCutchen – Indians (13.6%), Braves (9.3%), Cubs (9.2%), Pirates (5.4%), Phillies (4.9%), Yankees (4.8%), Nationals (4.3%), Mets (4.3%), Cardinals (4.0%), White Sox (3.6%), Mariners (3.4%), Giants (3.2%), Rockies (3.2%), Diamondbacks (3.1%)

12.  Yusei Kikuchi – Padres (18.8%), Mariners (12.0%), Dodgers (11.5%), Angels (9.7%), Giants (4.8%), Yankees (4.5%), Red Sox (4.4%), Phillies (3.4%), Rangers (3.2%)

13.  Josh Donaldson – Cardinals (50.1%), Braves (6.1%), Indians (6.0%), Mets (4.5%), Phillies (4.0%), Angels (3.8%), White Sox (2.8%)

14.  Charlie Morton – Astros (35.6%), Phillies (13.0%), Nationals (5.9%), Brewers (5.1%), Braves (3.4%), Angels (3.2%), Athletics (2.8%)

15.  Wilson Ramos – Nationals (16.8%), Astros (13.4%), Braves (10.1%), Dodgers (10.1%), Mets (7.3%), Phillies (6.3%), Angels (6.0%), Brewers (3.6%), Mariners (3.6%), Rays (3.0%), Rockies (2.7%), Athletics (2.5%)

16.  Marwin Gonzalez – Astros (10.3%), Twins (7.0%), Cubs (6.7%), Yankees (5.7%), Mets (5.5%), Giants (5.1%), Rockies (4.7%), Brewers (4.7%), Angels (4.4%), Indians (4.2%), Braves (4.0%), Phillies (4.0%), Dodgers (3.5%), Nationals (3.4%), Athletics (3.2%), Cardinals (3.2%), White Sox (3.0%), Blue Jays (3.0%)

17.  Jeurys Familia – Athletics (12.4%), Mets (9.5%), Twins (6.9%), Cubs (6.7%), Cardinals (6.2%), Red Sox (5.6%), Braves (5.5%), Dodgers (4.5%), Phillies (4.4%), Angels (4.1%), Indians (4.1%), Nationals (3.8%), Brewers (3.8%)

18.  Zach Britton – Astros (11.1%), Red Sox (11.0%), Yankees (10.9%), Cubs (9.8%), Cardinals (8.0%), Dodgers (7.0%), Phillies (6.4%), Braves (5.8%), Mets (5.2%), Nationals (3.6%), Indians (3.4%)

19.  David Robertson – Yankees (28.8%), Mets (11.7%), Red Sox (9.0%), Cubs (4.7%), Braves (4.5%), Cardinals (4.5%), Indians (3.5%), Dodgers (3.4%), Phillies (3.4%), Nationals (3.2%)

20.  Adam Ottavino – Yankees (11.4%), Rockies (11.2%), Cardinals (7.9%), Dodgers (7.5%), Mets (7.1%), Red Sox (7.0%), Cubs (6.3%), Braves (4.9%), Nationals (3.4%), Phillies (3.4%), Indians (3.2%), Brewers (3.2%)

Free Agency Notes: Harper, McCutchen, Yanks, D. Holland, Giants

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Agent Scott Boras told Michael Kay and Don La Greca of 98.7 FM ESPN New York earlier this week that Nationals outfielder and pending free agent Bryce Harper has already picked his team for 2019, which drew plenty of attention on social media Sunday. “We know who the team is. It’s already completed and done, but Bryce has told me that he wanted to tell you personally,” Boras said (video via the YES Network). However, if you’re of the belief Boras was being facetious, you’re correct. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links) that Boras was indeed joking. Anything else would’ve been a major surprise, as the 26-year-old Harper won’t even be allowed to discuss money with anyone but the Nationals until five days after the end of the World Series. Whether Harper ultimately re-signs with the Nats or heads elsewhere during the coming months, there’s no doubt he’ll land one of the richest contracts in baseball history.

Here’s more on a couple other players who are on the brink of reaching the open market:

  • Outfielder Andrew McCutchen was highly productive for the Yankees after they acquired him from San Francisco in August, but it doesn’t appear he’ll return to the Bronx next season. The Yankees aren’t expected to re-sign McCutchen, per George A. King III of the New York Post. Even without McCutchen, New York would still have several other high-profile outfielders in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury. The Bombers could also pursue Harper, and they’ll have to make a decision on Brett Gardner’s $12.5MM club option.
  • With left-hander Derek Holland hoping to return to the Giants in 2019, it “could make a lot of sense” for the club to offer him a two-year contract, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports California writes. Holland was unable to secure a guaranteed contract last winter, when the Giants inked him to a minors deal in a move that worked out beautifully for the team. The 32-year-old Holland ended up pitching to a 3.57 ERA/3.87 FIP across a San Francisco-leading 171 1/3 innings, likely setting himself up for a better payday than the $2MM he raked in this season.

Latest On Futures Of Andrew McCutchen, Brett Gardner

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In Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks, the Yankees already have a high-end starting outfield under control for 2019. But they’ll have more decisions to make in that area this offseason, specifically with veterans Andrew McCutchen and Brett Gardner. The club would “like to” retain McCutchen, a pending free agent, if his asking price is “reasonable,” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Meanwhile, the Yankees are “likely” to decline Gardner’s $12.5MM club option in favor of a $2MM buyout, according to Cafardo.

Having been acquired from the Giants on Aug. 31, McCutchen is just over three weeks into his tenure in the Bronx. The sample size is clearly limited, then, though the well-respected 31-year-old has delivered during his short Yankees career. Across 80 plate appearances with the Bombers, McCutchen has slashed .253/.425/.492 with four home runs and more walks (17) than strikeouts (15). Between San Francisco and New York, the right-handed McCutchen has batted .253/.366/.423 with 19 HRs in 648 trips to the plate, giving him a quality wRC+ of 119. The longtime Pirate has been an above-average offensive contributor every year of his career, which began in 2009, by wRC+.

Defensively, while McCutchen took significant steps backward as a center fielder from 2016-17, he has drawn somewhat better reviews in the corner this year. McCutchen has seen most of his action as a right fielder in 2018 and accounted for two Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-0.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 1,271 2/3 innings, though Statcast’s Outs Above Average (minus-10) ranks him among the game’s worst fielders in the grass. Still, thanks in large part to his offensive prowess, McCutchen has totaled 2.5 fWAR and 2.7 rWAR, no doubt making him a useful player even if he’s not the MVP-level performer he was in his halcyon days.

Gardner, meanwhile, has been similarly valuable by wins above replacement, as he has accrued 2.3 fWAR and 2.8 rWAR in 583 PAs. However, the 35-year-old’s amid a difficult second half in which he has posted a meager .209/.290/.304 line (63 wRC+), and it has been a tough season in general versus southpaws for the left-handed Gardner – who has only managed a .641 OPS against them. All told, Gardner has batted a below-average .237/.325/.368 (90 wRC+) with 12 homers this season, though the speedster has still succeeded on 15 of 17 stolen base attempts and held his own in the outfield, where he has picked up 13 DRS, a 6.5 UZR and minus-one OAA. Despite his plus defense, Gardner’s offensive woes have relegated him to a bench role of late, as he has been in New York’s starting lineup just once this week.

Because of his track record as a well-rounded player and an esteemed clubhouse presence, the Yankees may be able to move Gardner via trade in the offseason if they’re against retaining him for another year. He does have 10-and-5 rights, however, and would be able to veto any potential move. If New York does cut ties with Gardner, though, it would mean saying goodbye to its longest-tenured player. A third-round pick of the Yankees in 2005, Gardner debuted in pinstripes in 2008 and has since accumulated 32.6 fWAR and 37.6 rWAR in 5,419 PAs, making him one of the most accomplished outfielders in the franchise’s storied history.

With the offseason over a month from beginning in earnest, the Yankees’ Brian Cashman-led brain trust still has a fair amount of time to decide on the futures of McCutchen and Gardner. And with the Yankees set to earn a wild-card berth this year, both McCutchen or Gardner could have more time to influence New York’s winter plans, depending on how they perform and how far the team advances in the playoffs. But with Judge, Stanton, Hicks and 2018 injury cases Clint Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury among the Yankees’ outfield group for next season, it’ll be a surprise if they keep both McCutchen and Gardner.

August 31st Trade Deadline Recap

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A flurry of activity came yesterday in advance of the deadline to acquire postseason-eligible players via trade. In case you weren’t able to keep track of it all, here’s a roundup of the swaps made by MLB organizations on August 31st, 2018, sorted by the team on the acquiring end of the major-leaguer involved.

AL West

AL Central

  • The Indians acquired Josh Donaldson from the Blue Jays. Toronto will send $2.7MM to Cleveland as well, and they’ll get back a player to be named later, the quality of which will be dependent upon how Donaldson’s health situation progresses.

AL East

  • The Yankees took Adeiny Hechavarria off the Pirates’ hands in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It’s not yet known how much cash the Bucs will chip in to help pay the ~$1MM still owed to Hechavarria.
  • The Yankees also pried Andrew McCutchen from the Giants. San Francisco gets infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitching prospect Juan De Paula.

NL West

NL Central

NL East

  • (No trades)

Yankees Acquire Andrew McCutchen

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The Yankees and Giants have struck a trade that will send veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen to New York, the teams announced on Friday. Minor league infielder Abiatal Avelino and minor league right-hander Juan De Paula are heading to the Giants in exchange.

McCutchen has reportedly cleared revocable waivers, which freed the Giants to shop him around the league without restriction. We had recently looked at some plausible landing spots for the veteran, with MLBTR readers pegging the Yanks as one of the likeliest suitors. McCutchen also topped MLBTR’s most recent ranking of the top August trade candidates.

While the Yanks still are counting on top slugger Aaron Judge to return in time for the postseason, it’s increasingly worrisome that he remains sidelined by a chip fracture in his wrist. And though the Yanks are all but certain to end up in a Wild Card play-in, the club still needs to prepare both to maximize its chances of winning that game and to be ready for a full postseason series of it does so.

Presently, the Yankees are utilizing long-time infielder Neil Walker in the outfield while also giving a roster spot to the light-hitting Shane Robinson. While Clint Frazier would be an appealing option, he’s just launching a rehab assignment after a lengthy DL stint of his own. Under the circumstances, it’s not hard to see why the Yankees held interest in McCutchen, who has produced solid offensive numbers this year despite failing to play to his once-great levels.

True, McCutchen’s batting line — .255/.357/.415 — doesn’t look all that appealing at first glance for a corner outfielder, though it’s roughly 15 percent better than that of a league-average bat when adjusting for his cavernous home park (by measure of wRC+). McCutchen is drawing walks at a strong 12.9% clip and has perhaps been unfortunate only to carry a .160 isolated power that’s lower than any full-season mark in his career. There’s a statistical argument to be made that his overall numbers are worse than should be expected of someone who makes the quality of contact McCutchen has made so far in 2018; Statcast credits him with a .364 xwOBA that lands well over his actual .339 wOBA output.

Nonetheless, as he closes in on his 32nd birthday, McCutchen simply isn’t the player that he once was. But he’s still a solid performer who is still capable of playing on a near-regular basis. McCutchen has hit more against lefties and isn’t grading well on the bases despite 13 steals, however, so once the Yankees’ roster is at full strength, he could potentially be deployed more selectively. He has generated average or better grades for his glovework in right, a welcome change after some rough seasons in center field.

For the Yankees, the optimal roster situation does not include McCutchen as an everyday presence. But, once Judge is back, he could potentially be quite a useful player by entering the mix with Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner.

For the Giants, there isn’t much reason to hold onto McCutchen at this point. The club isn’t going to make the postseason regardless, barring a miracle. And the veteran likely won’t be worth a qualifying offer. If the Giants want him back, they can still pursue him on the open market.

Meanwhile, the Giants will pick up some new assets. Avelino, 23, raked at Double-A to open the year but has fallen back to earth upon ascending to the highest level of the minors. He’s struggling to reach base and hasn’t sustained the power burst he showed earlier in the year, though it’s still notable that he has hit 15 home runs in 501 plate appearances after never previously even reaching double digits in a full season.

Avelino also runs well and has mostly played shortstop as a professional, though he also has seen significant time at second and third. He rated 23rd among Yankees prospects on MLB.com’s midseason ranking of the Yankees’ best prospects, so the scouting community has recognized his intriguing recent developments. While Avelino will need to be added to the 40-man roster to be protected from Rule 5 draft consideration, the Giants likely won’t find that too onerous and may consider allowing him to compete for a job in camp next spring.

In De Paula, the Yanks will add a hard-throwing 20-year-old who has spent the summer playing with the Yankees’ short-season Class-A affiliate in Staten Island. In 47 1/3 innings (nine starts, one relief appearance), he’s worked to a 1.71 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate. De Paula ranked 26th among Yankees prospect, per MLB.com, drawing praise for a curveball and changeup that give him a chance for three above-average pitches.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported that a deal was close and that Avelino would head to the Giants (Twitter links). ESPN’s Buster Olney reported an agreement had been reached (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal and Jim Bowden of The Athletic added financial details and that De Paula would be the second prospect in the deal (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants’ Leadership Addresses Organization’s Plans

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With it becoming increasingly apparent that the Giants won’t be mounting a late run at the postseason, the team’s top organizational figures have spent some time giving their impressions of the current season and the future outlook. CEO Larry Baer chatted with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic (audio/subscription link), while president of baseball operations Brian Sabean spoke with John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Both men made clear that they don’t see the ballclub as being in the midst of a massive transition. “I don’t characterize it as a rebuild,” said Baer. Sabean, the club’s top baseball decisionmaker, said much the same: “We’re used to winning. We don’t feel we’re in a position, as a result of that, to have, quote, a complete face-lift.”

At the same time, there was certainly an acknowledgement that change will be needed. Sabean noted that the front office will “have to probably be ready to make some tough decisions.” And Baer acknowledged that, in applying what he described as Sabean’s “win and develop” approach to staying competitive while building for the future, it may be necessary to “”lean more toward the development” side of the fence.

If there’s a clear plan, it’s not clear from these interviews just what it is and how it’ll be implemented. When asked whether he expects to acquire a big-money player — which Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle argued today could be pursued even if the club otherwise doesn’t really expect to contend — Baer said it’s just too soon to know. His top baseball ops mean, though, said the club “still want[s] to put the most productive product on the field that we can,” which seems to keep the door open.

Certainly, it’s tough to see how the Giants would manage to embark upon anything like a true rebuilding effort with so many hard-to-move obligations on the books. That wasn’t necessarily the case last winter, when several veterans on long-term deals held greater trade value than they do now.

While the decision to push for a return to contention in 2018 hasn’t resulted in a postseason trajectory, that doesn’t mean the organization regrets it. Sabean says there was value in having “distanced ourselves from how last year went.” Both men suggested that the organization is pleased with having unearthed some young talent, too.

Of course, expectations were that this roster would struggle to keep pace in the division, just as has occurred. Some might have been higher on the Giants heading into 2018 had the team landed Giancarlo Stanton. In Baer’s estimation, the organization failed to convince the slugger to waive his no-trade protection to come to San Francisco mostly because Stanton was already frustrated with “the process” the Marlins undertook to try to deal him. Anyway, Baer says, the near-term payroll space that would have been locked up by Stanton was “re-expressed” in veterans Andrew McCutchen, Evan Longoria, and Tony Watson — a fact that actually left the club “very content” this spring, Baer says.

Longoria’s contract now looks to be another underperforming asset, further clogging the future balance sheets after the club so diligently stayed below the luxury tax line this year. But those are the risks it takes to acquire or keep established veterans. And the Giants obviously believe in their approach, having seen it result in three recent World Series titles.

It seems that, most broadly, the organization will back off the throttle in some respects — McCutchen could certainly be traded in the coming days, for example — but will otherwise push forward with its tried and true methods of roster building. Certainly, there’s every indication that Sabean and skipper Bruce Bochy will remain in their posts, with Baer telling Kawakami that the pair has an unmatched pedigree and expressing confidence in them with one more season left on their most recent extensions.

Andrew McCutchen Clears Revocable Trade Waivers

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Giants outfielder Andrew McCutchen has cleared revocable trade waivers and is now eligible to be traded to any team, reports Robert Murray of The Athletic (on Twitter). It’s at least a mild surprise to see McCutchen clear, though he’s still owed a fairly notable $3.155MM of this season’s $14.75MM salary. He landed atop MLBTR’s most recent list of the top 20 remaining August trade candidates.

At the time he was placed on waivers, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly tweeted that there was a “very good chance” that the Giants would deal McCutchen, given the team’s increasing deficit in the NL West and the Wild Card race. McCutchen isn’t in the starting lineup for the Giants tonight, though skipper Bruce Bochy told reporters prior to first pitch that it was just a standard day off for the outfielder (link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).

McCutchen, 31, has turned in a .255/.353/.412 slash with 14 homers, 26 doubles and a pair of triples in his first and quite possibly only season with the Giants. That’s a far cry from the brilliant production that earned him National League MVP honors a few years back, though his bottom-line numbers have undoubtedly been weighed down a bit by his extremely pitcher-friendly home park. Context-neutral stats like OPS+ (108) and wRC+ (113) suggest he’s been anywhere from eight to 13 percent better than a league-average offensive player.

With McCutchen free to be traded anywhere, the Giants should find multiple teams with interest, and they’ll now be able to include some cash considerations to help offset a partial portion of his remaining salary. The Indians are reported to be in the market for outfield upgrades but are already well north of their franchise-record payroll, so perhaps they opted to pass on claiming him for fear of being stuck with an additional $3MM+.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are currently without Aaron Judge and are unable to play Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield due to hamstring issues that are limiting him to DH. Neil Walker has been playing right field for the first time in his career given that pair of injury issues. While both Judge and Stanton are expected back healthy by season’s end, adding McCutchen would give the team another solid bat and provide some cover while Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius mend.

That’s just a pair of clubs with obvious outfield needs, of course, and there could certainly be additional interest in McCutchen throughout the league. The Athletics stand out as another speculative on-paper fit, and yesterday’s trade of Daniel Murphy from the Nats to the Cubs serves as a reminder that teams are more keen than ever on stockpiling depth even if it means a short-term acquisition of a player who may not look like a clear fit when his new team’s roster is at full strength.

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