Brewers sign outfielder and former MVP Andrew McCutchen, report says
The Milwaukee Brewers have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen, according to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Terms of the deal were not immediately released.
McCutchen, 35, has spent the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. He hit .238/0.343/0.444 (109 OPS+) with 47 homers in that span, including last season when he hit .222/0.334/0.444 (109 OPS+) with 27 homers in 144 games. However, McCutchen’s below-average defense dragged his overall value down, with Baseball Reference estimating he was worth just 3.1 wins above the substitution.
In addition to McCutchen’s age and limited opportunities to provide value, another factor that likely drove teams away from him was his recent squad history. The past two seasons he has posted a sub-.700 OPS against right-handed pitchers. This combination of negatives led CBS Sports to predict that he would have a cold market. To McCutchen’s credit, he was a more reliable factor against left-handed pitchers. Since 2019, he’s posted a slant line of .291/.407/.567 when lucky enough to have the edge of the pack.
It stands to reason the Brewers could use McCutchen as their designated hitter given they already have three viable outfielders in Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Hunter Renfroe. Both Cain and Renfroe are right-handed hitters, which means there’s no platoon arrangement to be found on the grass involving McCutchen. (The Brewers are also expected to carry Tyrone Taylor, another right-handed outfielder, as part of their bench.)
McCutchen is the fourth addition the Brewers have made to their positional roster this offseason, alongside the aforementioned Renfroe (acquired in a trade to the Red Sox that fired Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects to Boston), the player infielder Mike Brosseau and the backup. receiver Pedro Severino.
McCutchen originally became a free agent after the Phillies turned down a club option that would have paid him $15 million next season. Instead, the Phillies paid him a $3 million buyout, saving $12 million in the process.