Andrew McCutchen Was the Perfect Signing That the Twins Didn't Make

[Lou Hennessy]

The Twins reportedly had significant interest in the former MVP over the winter, but decided to go another direction. What could have been if the two sides had come to a deal?

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins seemed like a natural fit as a landing spot for a right-handed bat with a proven track record over the off-season. Given the team’s need for a short-term deal and a relatively top-heavy free agent class, there wasn’t a plethora of options to play with. However, there were a handful of names that would have fit that mold. Near the top of that list was former National League MVP, Andrew McCutchen. I asked in January if he did anything for Twins fans, and the general consensus was that he could represent a modest improvement in a more-limited role.

It turns out that the Twins agreed. According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, the Twins had “heavy interest” in the veteran outfielder, but couldn’t promise the same playing time as he would get from the Pittsburgh Pirates. So McCutchen returned to the organization that drafted him on a reasonable one-year, $5 million contract. 

Instead, the Twins opted for a plan that included giving that starter’s share of starting opportunities to Joey Gallo, and a re-sign of Kyle Garlick to a guaranteed deal to avoid arbitration to fill the right-handed side of a platoon. Now, Gallo is once again in the middle of a brutal slump, and Garlick was just designated for assignment. 

McCutchen is currently performing at a level that the Twins desperately need from their corner outfielders. Through 62 games with the Pirates, he has a strong .264/.385/.425 (124 wRC+) slash line, with nine home runs, 24 RBI and seven stolen bases. All in all, Fangraphs pegs McCutchen’s performance worth 1.1 WAR, which would lead all Twins’ hitters. Sure, there’s no crystal ball that assures he would have performed at this level if he had signed with the Twins, but the point remains that McCutchen still possesses a potent bat in his age-36 season. 

Compare that to what the Twins have received from their corner outfielders, and the point really gets hammered home. McCutchen could have raised the tide with this offense with a modest investment.
The Twins have the American League’s 4th-worst WAR total from their right fielders in 2023, and a combined OPS of just .699. McCutchen alone has an .810 OPS, which is more than 50 points higher than that of Gallo, 148 points higher than that of Garlick and 160 points higher than that of Max Kepler. Simply put, the plan that the Twins decided to go with has not panned out. 

It should be noted that McCutchen has played the bulk of his games this year as the Pirates’ DH, but there’s still reason to believe that he can be a strong defender in a corner outfield spot. He took the field in 53 games just last year, and he held his own with relatively neutral results when it came to Outs Above Average (0 OAA in 434 innings). He also still boasts above-average sprint speed (81st percentile), which is much faster than the three aforementioned Twins players. 

In terms of one of the team’s greatest weaknesses in 2023, McCutchen could have significantly improved the offense’s results with runners in scoring position. In those instances this year, the slugger has a whopping .901 OPS with just a 12.7% strikeout rate. His performance in those situations has been about 38% better than the league-average hitter. 

Again, there’s no promising that McCutchen would have been a vast improvement when compared to the options that the Twins are working with in their current corner outfield depth chart. But at this point, it’s hard to make the case against it. And for a team whose platoon-heavy game plan hasn’t mustered much firepower, the idea of having Cutch as a near-everyday regular sounds pretty refreshing. 

It’s easy to think about all the moves that haven’t gone the Twins’ way in recent years. From their disastrous free agent signings to their ill-fated trades at last year’s deadline. But what can drive people even crazier is thinking about all of the relatively-minor investment moves that could have paid off exponentially. McCutchen certainly fits that mold all too well. 

What do you think? Should the Twins have been more willing to promise significant playing time to McCutchen? Do you think he would have helped this offense that currently finds themselves in a tailspin? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below. 

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[Karbo]

Could have, would have, should have. He could have just as easily caught the Twins flu and started striking out more than hitting.

[JDubs]

But what would you do with Buxton? It's telling that Cutch has spent so much time at DH, given that the Pirates don't exactly have a stacked outfield. Seems to indicate their front office similarly believes he won't hold up if he's playing the field regularly, and one thing the Twins really don't need is another DH that can't be asked to go out in the field regularly.

[TopGunn#22]

I think the better off season signing would have been Adam Duval.  He's every bit as good an OF defender as Joey Gallo, but he's a RH power bat who strikes out less, walks less, but hits for a higher average.  He doesn't play 1B but the Twins really didn't NEED Gallo at 1B either given the options they had (Solano, Kirilloff, Julian, Miranda).  With Duval out there it was baffling to me why the Twins FO went for Gallo who furthered the redundancy of LH hitting OF's.  Duval got off to a red hot start for the Red Sox and then got hit on the wrist by a pitch and missed some time.  He's back in the Boston lineup hitting 4th or 5th and playing all 3 OF positions.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Hot take!  If the Twins had signed [insert 2022 FA here], they would be better!

Ugh...

[TwinsHater1991]

Think if they had invested the money in Justin Turner instead, it would've been the better signing considering Buxton would have not let McCutchen DH often. Or do we put Byron Buxton at 1B???? hahahha I do think had we targeted both Turner and Cutch, we would be in a better spot along with Solano and Farmer, would've given us legit depth

[Lou Hennessy]

1 hour ago, TwinsHater1991 said:

Think if they had invested the money in Justin Turner instead, it would've been the better signing considering Buxton would have not let McCutchen DH often. Or do we put Byron Buxton at 1B???? hahahha I do think had we targeted both Turner and Cutch, we would be in a better spot along with Solano and Farmer, would've given us legit depth

I loved and still love the idea of Turner on the Twins. He's been great for the Red Sox. I wonder if there'll be a trade market for him. Sox aren't clear sellers at the moment, but they're in a stacked division and a lot can happen in a few weeks.

[TwinsHater1991]

For sure which is why I think we should strike when the time is right. It's s the same for guys like Goldy

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I think the better off season signing would have been Adam Duval.  He's every bit as good an OF defender as Joey Gallo, but he's a RH power bat who strikes out less, walks less, but hits for a higher average.  He doesn't play 1B but the Twins really didn't NEED Gallo at 1B either given the options they had (Solano, Kirilloff, Julian, Miranda).  With Duval out there it was baffling to me why the Twins FO went for Gallo who furthered the redundancy of LH hitting OF's.  Duval got off to a red hot start for the Red Sox and then got hit on the wrist by a pitch and missed some time.  He's back in the Boston lineup hitting 4th or 5th and playing all 3 OF positions.  

Julien doesn’t play 1B or we would have seen by now - Kirilloff was rehabbing for more than a month - Miranda was playing 3B prior to Lewis & through Farmer’s injury.

Duvall instead of Gallo - sure, no problem with that. Gallo had a nice first 6 weeks and played a really good 1B when asked to do so.

Needed somebody willing to sign with us - McCutcheon got hung up on returning to Pittsburgh & Duvall probably was reluctant with all the youth OF we have? Maybe not enough money? Maybe we didn’t pursue hard enough? Duvall would be a nice piece for Twins!

[DocBauer]

I like McCutchen as a veteran bounce back who I thought had some gas left in the tank. I can't argue with going the defense/speed route they did with Taylor, but I had 'Cutch on my list of top 3 RH bats with power. While I don't doubt the Twins couldn't offer him as much guaranteed time or $ as he maybe wanted, rumor has it that he really didn't want to play anywhere but Pittsburgh. If true, it would have taken an over-sign to get him.

[Cris E]

20-20 hindsight isn't useful.  McCutchen is certainly playing better this year than he has in quite some time, but how much of that is due to returning home? How much is due to playing off the excellent year the rest of the Pirates are having?  Would it look the same if he just another geezer mercenary bat wedged between Kepler's .209 and Buxton's .210?  He sounds like a perfect delight to have around, but I think the homecoming is a part of the story here. 

Return to this story in September and see how things play out. Meanwhile use your magical talents to manipulate the stock market and make us all rich.

[strumdatjag]

At this point:

They don’t need Duvall. They don’t need Gallo.  They don’t need Kepler.  They don’t need Garlick.   
The Twins need to bring up Matt Wallner from AAA. 

[DJL44]

I am really glad Cutch didn't sign with the Twins and is having a great season in Pittsburgh. It's like when Torii Hunter came back to the Twins.

[Riverbrian]

I will agree that the off-season outfield plan didn't work out. 

I will agree that McCutchen at 5M is much much much much better than Gallo at 10M. 

However, Cutch back home in Pittsburgh is what should have happened. 

Personally, If I'm going to use hindsight on the front office (I'm not). I have to use it on myself in order to be fair. 

I remember thinking offense was what we needed so I was thinking about the best bats available. 

The OF that I suggested was Mitch Haniger. He has continued to be oft-injured with a .653 OPS this year when healthy. Haniger would have cost us 43.5 for the next 3 years. I was wrong. 

The other free agent that I wanted was Brandon Drury. I wanted Drury because of his bat and positional flexibility. He is looking like a bargain 17M for 2 years. I was right. 

So far needs to be attached to both my right and wrongs. 

[Whitey333]

The Gallo signing and the failed trades for oft injured pitchers and an organizational philosophy of using Twins as a reclamation team should be enough nails in the coffin to get rid of the front office but it won't be.  We will be stuck with the same boring team unless and until they are gone.

[John Belinski]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

The Gallo signing and the failed trades for oft injured pitchers and an organizational philosophy of using Twins as a reclamation team should be enough nails in the coffin to get rid of the front office but it won't be.  We will be stuck with the same boring team unless and until they are gone.

Signing Cutch for maybe $7 million would have helped Twins more than Gallo at $10 million. Gallo was more of a gamble and had record of strikeouts. Twins front office has not helped the 2023 Twins.

[SwainZag]

McCutchen has been the primary DH in Pittsburgh, only playing 7 games in the OF.  Gallo has logged 200 innings at 1B and 210 in the OF.  Gallo having experience at 1B with Kiriloff being a huge question mark this offseason had to come into play.  I just don't see how you can directly compare the signings. 

 

Brandon Drury proving that his breakout year at age 29 wasn't a fluke.  Having a very solid year for the Angels.  He would have been a nice addition. 

[specialiststeve]

Gallo is/was/continues to be a disaster. The front office not willing to recognize it is ridiculous. 

Looking at other signings is a revisionist history that is low hanging fruit. We should have done better. 

That being said the hitting coach should be fired ... continuing to have the same approach and expecting something different is the definition of insanity. Although, that would explain things. LOL 

[umterp23]

Yankees jettisoned Aaron Hicks and O's sure made that look like a good move to have him playing since Mullins had to go on IL.  $11MM Gallo, $8.5MM Kepler, Garlick $750K, for a corner outfield of 2 lefties a "lefty masher" and we are in the position of wold of, could of for DH for the Pirates.  Twins knew at that time Buxton was going to be DH and Cutch was better off going back to where he started.

Let's move on 

Give me Wallner & Larnach and let the other lefties enjoy early retirement from Twins.