Twins Video
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.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now