Andrew McCutchen Potential Trade Fit: New York Yankees

Editorial: With the off-season very much underway, it is time for the rumor mill to really start going.  Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen will be brought up a lot this off-season.  Could the New York Yankees be a fit?

Toward the end of the Pittsburgh Pirates season, many started to question if it would be Andrew McCutchen‘s final season in Pittsburgh.  Many believe that Andrew McCutchen is disgruntled here in Pittsburgh, and that it would benefit both sides to split ways.  From the Pirates side it makes sense.  They can trade him while he still has relatively high value, regardless of him having a down season.  They can also acquire a nice package of players back.   The package would include some who could contribute in 2017, and it would include some prospects.

The New York Yankees are always in the thick of things every off-season.  With missing the playoffs last season, the Yankees could look to make a big splash move this off-season.  One of the biggest issues is the little production they received from the outfield.  Andrew McCutchen would no doubt boost their outfield production over the next two season.  Also, with a smaller outfield to cover, he would provide solid defense too.  The question is, do the Yankees also have the pieces to get a deal done?

Yankees Need

The New York Yankees are going for a youth movement, however, with a talented young core, they could use a veteran star to bring it all together.  Right now they are penciling in Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Aaron Judge.  Of the group, Judge has the highest upside.  He was a former first round pick who made his debut last year, and projects to be a number four type hitter. Outside of him you have two aging veterans.

Jacoby Ellsbury is a shell of his former self, and simply cannot be relied on as an impact bat at this point.  The former MVP is now 33 years old, and hit a lackluster .263 with a .703 OPS last season. He has been trending downward over the last few years, and he has not posted an OPS above .750 since 2013.  Ellsbury has been relatively healthy playing in 130+ games three of the last four years.  However, as most baseball fans know, the outfielder is relatively injury prone.

Then there is Brett Gardner, a nice complimentary player to any team.  Last off-season the Yankees fielded a lot of calls in regards to Gardner. Many thought the Yanks would move him for the right price.  This shows that the Yankees were willing to move Gardner. Garnder put up similar numbers as Ellsbury did, posting a .261 average and a mediocre .713 OPS.  They could look to move Gardner again.

Gardner is a solid role player, but like Ellsbury, he is aging and expendable.  What makes Gardner more likely to be moved is his price.  Garnder has only two more years remaining on his contract at a relatively doable rate of 24 million over those two years.  Compare this to Ellsbury, who is owed close to a 90 million over the next four seasons.  Ellsbury also has a no trade clause, making it even harder to move him.  In general, the Yankees could use a proven, impact outfield bat, and not two aging, weak hitting players.

What Could the Bucs Get?

One thing that the New York Yankees have done a great job of is building up their farm system. According to MLB.com, the Yankees have the second best farm system in baseball. This includes many top prospect they acquired last trade deadline.  Much has been written by Yankee sites about the possibility of acquiring McCutchen.  There has been a few common names among all the articles.  First, they list Luis Severino as part of a deal.  Severino was long considered the Yankees top pitching prospect, and in general a top 75 prospect in baseball.  He has electric stuff, with a fastball that sits 93-95, a hard slider, and a good change-up.  Severino was very good in his 2015 action, but he struggled in his sophomore season.  Although the Yankees have not soured on Severino, they would be willing to part with him.

Top Prospects

The other player names have been a lot of prospects.  Names such as Clint Frazier, Jorge Mateo, Justus Sheffield, Domingo Acevedo, and James Kaprelian.  Sites including outsidepitch.com and yanksgoyard.com both have suggested Clint Frazier as one of the prospects going back.  The fact is, the Yankees would be getting a proven all-star outfielder, making no room for Frazier.  Frazier, who is a top 25 prospect in baseball, would be a really intriguing player to add.

First, he is an elite talent that was given up by Cleveland for Andrew Miller.  Second, he grew up in the same town as top prospect Austin Meadows.  Lastly, he would just be another big chip, who is close to MLB ready.  Now some of you might be saying that we do not need Frazier because of Meadows.  Remember, the Pittsburgh Pirates are trading their former MVP outfielder.  As an organization the Bucs need to be looking to acquire the best talent package available, not for needs.  It just so happens the best chip the Yankees could offer is an outfielder.  Still, Frazier a highly valued prospect, who could be insurance if Meadows does not work out, or a trade piece at a later date.

Another Top Infield Prospect

The second most intriguing name is Jorge Mateo.  With the acquisition Gleyber Torres, the Yankees could look to move their former top shortstop prospect Mateo.  Torres was acquired in the Chapman trade, and quickly became the Yankees #2 prospect.  Mateo, who was a top 50 prospect entering the 2016 season, had somewhat of a down year.  On the season Mateo batted, .255 with a .685 OPS.  Those numbers are all below his career numbers since 2012.  Like McCutchen, many scouts also expect Mateo to bounce back at Double-A next year.

The other names like Sheffield, Avecedo, and Kaprelian all represent advanced top 10 prospects, upside arms that every team would like to have in their system. Sheffield (2014) and Kaprelian (2015) were both first round picks in their draft classes.  Avecedo is an international signing, who as of now is starting. The 6’7” right-handed arm projects better as a lights out closer.  All would be intriguing adds.