The San Francisco Giants have made a deal to get Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who is in the last year of his contract.
McCutchen became the second star dumped by Pittsburgh in three days. Bucs’ ace Gerrit Cole was traded to the Houston Astros on Saturday.
McCutchen, one of baseball’s biggest stars and a fan favorite for years in Pittsburgh, is on the move as the 31-year-old and five-time All-Star has one year and $14.5 million remaining on his contract.
The former National League MVP joins a Giants team that now has a revamped lineup that also includes first baseman, Evan Longoria. The Giants are trying to avoid another dismal season such as the one they had in 2017 when they finished as the bottom dwellers of the N.L West.
In return, the Pirates get right-hander Kyle Crick, minor league outfielder Bryan Reynolds and $500,000 in international signing bonus allocation.
McCutchen, who for a long time was the face of the Pirates, spent the first nine years of his career in the Steel City. He will try to help the Giants catch other teams in the division such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who last year proved to be considerably better.
The durable McCutchen has played more than 150 games in each of the last three seasons for the Pirates, batting .279 with 28 home runs and 88 RBIs in 156 games in 2017.
The Giants are coming off the fourth-worst season in franchise history since they began playing baseball in 1883.
On Saturday the Pirates sent Cole to the World Series champion Astros in exchange for right-handers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz, third baseman Colin Moran and outfielder Jason Martin.
Cole joins an already very strong Astros rotation that ranked sixth in the majors last season in ERA, WHIP, strikeout percentage and opponent batting average, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
