Outfielder Andrew McCutchen agrees to 3-year deal with Phillies
Outfielder Andrew McCutchen has agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, sources confirmed with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Jon Heyman of Fancred reported the deal is worth $50 million, far less than the five years and $80 million he originally sought this offseason.
Source: Andrew McCutchen has a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Not the five he originally was shooting for but still a good fit, as he moves cross-state from his longtime home in Pittsburgh.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 11, 2018
The longtime face of the Pittsburgh Pirates was traded twice in 2018 before ending the season with the New York Yankees, but the bulk of his year was spent with the San Francisco Giants.
McCutchen’s first season away from the team that drafted and groomed him didn’t exactly propel the outfielder to new heights. His numbers dropped to the point where his slash line hit a career-low .255/.368/.424. McCutchen also finished with the most strikeouts in his career (145), and his 21 home runs were his fewest in a season since 2011.
That doesn’t mean the former MVP is necessarily cooked. At 32, McCutchen still has plenty to offer teams and his experience is certainly a plus with a number of clubs loading up on young players. McCutchen has also shown an ability to bounce back in recent years. Twice in his last four years, his OPS has dipped below .800 only to soar back over that threshold the following season.
It’s also fair to wonder how much the uncertainty of the last few years has affected his play as trade rumors surrounding McCutchen have floated endlessly in the build-up to his free agency. When the Pirates finally did move the outfielder, it was to a San Francisco team that was grasping at just about anything it could to put together a winning season with an aging core. When the Giants’ implosion was realized in August, San Francisco sent him back to the east coast where the Yankees were struggling to keep pace with the eventual World Series champs in Boston.
Now that the circus for his talents has finally died down, maybe things can get back to normal for the five-time All-Star.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee