Pittsburgh Pirates acquire two players from the Giants for Andrew McCutchen

Earlier in the day on Monday news broke that the Pittsburgh Pirates were trading center fielder Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants, we now know what the Pirates are getting in return for McCutchen

One of the players coming to the Pirates in exchange for Andrew McCutchen is 25-year-old right-handed reliever Kyle Crick. In 2017 Kyle Crick made his Major League debut appearing in 30 games for the Giants.

In these 30 games, Crick pitched 32 1/3 innings. He allowed 22 hits, a pair of home runs, and averaged 4.73 BB/9 and 7.79 K/9 in those 32 1/3 innings pitched. All of this resulted in Crick owning a 3.06 ERA, 3.90 FIP, and a 0.1 fWAR in 2017. However, Crick’s 5.30 xFIP does not paint a pretty picture for 2018. If he does not fix his control issues, he will not be of much value in the Pirate bullpen.

Kyle Crick throws a fastball that averages 96 miles per hour, he also generated an 11 percent swing-and-miss rate with his fastball in 2017. He will be under team control through 2023.

The other player coming from the Giants is outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds. The 22-year-old Reynolds is one of the Giants’ top-five prospects and spent the 2017 season at High-A. At High-A last year, Reynolds owned a .151 ISO, .364 on-base percentage, a .365 wOBA, and a wRC+ of 122.

The return for Andrew McCutchen is not good. Then again, 31-year-old outfielders who are no longer good defensively, are declining offensively, and come with just one year of team control do not have a lot of trade value. That said, this return is still atrocious.

Next: A look at Michael Feliz

While trading Andrew McCutchen was the absolute right move to make, trading him for Kyle freakin’ Crick and a midrange outfield prospect was not.

This trade reeks of a salary dump, not just any salary dump but a salary dump of the face of the franchise and the player that more than any other helped end 20 consecutive years of losing. That disgraceful move falls at the feet of Bob Nutting and his ownership group which continues to prove to be nothing short of cheap and incompetent.