LAS VEGAS – To the surprise of no one, the Philadelphia Phillies made the first big free-agent strike at baseball’s winter meetings, agreeing to a multi-year deal with an All-Star outfielder.
That it was Andrew McCutchen and not Bryce Harper, however, does not mean the Phillies will be out of the market for this winter’s biggest prizes.
The Phillies reached agreement with McCutchen on a three-year deal worth $50 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreement. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official.
McCutchen, 32, is a five-time All-Star who spent all but 2018 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They traded him to the San Francisco Giants before last season, and he was a respected veteran member of that club and the New York Yankees – batting leadoff for htem in the playoffs – before becoming a free agent for the first time.
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In Philly, he will assume a corner outfield spot as Rhys Hoskins slides to first base – a significant and immediate defensive upgrade for the Phillies, who finished 80-81 last season.
Odubel Herrera will hold down center field, but the relatively modest commitment to McCutchen and the roster flexibility they maintain certainly doesn’t rule out a run at Harper or third baseman Manny Machado, each of which should exceed $300 million in contract value.
McCutchen produced 20 home runs and a .368 on-base percentage with the Giants and Yankees and should flourish playing full-time in Citizens Bank Park. The 2013 NL MVP has a lifetime .859 OPS and 223 home runs.
He'll also add a significant dose of veteran accountability to a club that foundered at times during its surprise run at contention in 2017, when a September fade handed the division to the Atlanta Braves.
"I think the way you prepare for it to happen is by building emotional armor, physical armor, in the offseason, and kind of the mental preparation that this is going to happen," Kapler said Monday at the winter meetings. "And I'm not sure that everybody was 100% prepared for that outcome.
"And when we're sitting in the middle of July and we are in first place, and we are a very good baseball team – I think we could have prepared for that moment a little bit better, mentally, physically, and emotionally."
For now, that "armor" comes in the form of a respected and productive veteran outfielder.
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