If there was any doubt about the Pittsburgh Pirates' offseason goals after dealing ace pitcher Gerrit Cole over the weekend, it's now clear the full-scale rebuild is officially underway following Monday's trade of former NL MVP and franchise cornerstone Andrew McCutchen.
Details: McCutchen era ends in Pittsburgh
The San Francisco Giants made their second major acquisition of the winter (after third baseman Evan Longoria) by adding McCutchen to fill a significant need in the outfield.
McCutchen, 31, enjoyed a bit of a rebound last season by hitting .279 with 28 homers, 94 runs scored, 88 RBI and 11 steals -- improving those numbers across the board after a disappointing 2016. But how much Cutch has left in the tank is the real question.
He's certainly an upgrade over Steven Duggar or Jarrett Parker, who had been penciled in as the Giants' starters in center field and left field.
Fantasy owners can't be particularly thrilled with McCutchen moving to San Francisco. Pittsburgh's PNC Park ranked 20th for offense last season, according to ESPN Park Factors -- but AT&T Park was even worse at No. 27, depressing scoring by 15%.
As for the team environment, the Pirates and Giants were two of the three worst offensive teams in baseball last season. Pittsburgh averaged 4.12 runs per game. San Francisco averaged 3.94. (Only Sn Diego, at 3.73, was worse.)
McCutchen is a borderline top-20 fantasy outfielder who can contribute in all five offensive categories. This trade doesn't change his value, either positively or negatively.
We don't yet know what the Giants had to give up to acquire the 2013 NL MVP, but he's only under contract for one more year (at $14 million), so don't expect the kind of return the Pirates received for Cole from Houston.
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