The San Francisco Giants are showing serious interest in Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and have had recent discussions regarding the former MVP according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
Morosi adds that a trade isn’t imminent and the Giants are reluctant to give up top prospects for McCutchen after dealing #1 prospect Carlos Arroyo in the Evan Longoria trade.
McCutchen, 31, had a bounce back season in 2017 with 30 doubles, 28 home runs, 88 RBI, 121 OPS+ and 2.5 WAR after a horrendous 2016 season.
The former Gold Glover continued his issues in the field however with -15 DRS in center field after posting -28 DRS in 2016. Cutch did play 13 games in right field with 2 DRS and that is certainly where he should be playing going forward.
The Giants have been looking to add a bat all offseason which started with them being serious contender for Giancarlo Stanton until he decided not to waive his no-trade clause for them. They’ve also shown interest in former Met Jay Bruce.
Right now the Giants projected starting outfield is Hunter Pence (career-worst 86 OPS+ in 2017) in right field, prospect Steven Duggar in center and Jarrett Parker in left.
Pirates seem to be the key to the trade market right now with Cutch, Gerrit Cole and Josh Harrison as valuable assets for a team looking to shed salary.
