McCutchen in agreement with Brewers

[DR28]

Pair Cutch with someone like Corey Dickerson, I think Ill be ok with it then.

[sveumrules]

  On 3/15/2022 at 2:54 AM, DR28 said:

Wait seriously??

Where the hell was this offense against the Braves? Man I really didnt know that.

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For real…

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2021&month=1000&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-05-22&enddate=2021-09-04&sort=5,d
 

Over the full 162 the Astros scored the most runs in the AL & the Dodgers scored the most runs in the NL & they both lost to the Braves too.

Small samples be crazy like that.

[KeithStone53151]

  On 3/15/2022 at 2:46 AM, JosephC said:

I'm surprised by this move, as the defensive metrics pretty much indicate that McCutchen is a complete butcher with the glove.  Since Stearns seems to place real value in outfield defense, I can't help but think that McCutchen was signed to be the primary DH.

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It's also possible mccutchen gets his occasional start when woodruff or burnes pitch. The ground ball and strikeout guys which would limit the number of even routine plays he needs to make. But generally agree with your point that I don't expect him to start in the field too often.

Also just a general reminder that with the DH, the in game roster management is much more simplified. The whole double switch a guy into the game for 4 innings thing will be pretty much gone. That said, I would like to see mccutchen used as a ph in key at bats against lefties late in the game as a pure ph.

[pitchleague]

I like this signing, contrary to other thoughts here on the board.  It's not flashy but it fills in a need (RH hitter that hits LHP well) and can't really be worse than Yelich in LF when pressed into service.  I think he has a resurgent year.

[Oxy]

As others have mentioned, with the DH the need for defensive versatility goes WAY down and the need for specialized platoon bench bats goes WAY up (obviously it's better to have a guy who can hit lefties and righties and play D, but those guys are starters and expensive),  McCutcheon is a good PH and occasional DH.

[CheezWizHed]

While this wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for...he really didn't hit that bad last year.  778 OPS and 2.1 oWAR(Bref) isn't the worst add to the team.  I'm sure they will leverage him against lefties to maximize his offense, but even his overal numbers aren't bad.

Seems like only 5 players in the AL qualified (3.1 ABs/game) for enough ABs at the DH position last year. And not surprisingly, they are the biggest hitters.  But that means everyone else was using a variety of players as their DH. Which we wil obviously be doing also.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/player/_/position/dh

RK	NAME
1	J.D. MartinezBOS
2	Yordan AlvarezHOU
3	Giancarlo StantonNYY
4	Nelson CruzMIN/TB
5	Shohei OhtaniLAA

 With Yellich's back issues, I'm sure him playing DH heavily is in the plans.  Plus days off against the big lefties.  

I'm guessing Taylor is going to get plenty of ABs backing up Cain and some LF/RF too.  Or would this be the year he passes Cain? 

[owbc]

I like it as well. I know many here have PTSD from the JBJ contract but Cutch fills a need for us and the guy is about as well-liked as they come. If this is like a 2/20 deal I’m all for it. 

[wallus]

I am guessing this will be it offensively unless someone is around for a discount later. If we are having issues mid season, we can make a trade. Just my hunch on the situation.

[brewcrewdue80]

Takes his share of walks while not striking out near 20pct?  Mashes lefties. Yeah any comparison saying JBJ replacement is hilarious. Cutch vastly improves on that fake bat that JBJ walked to the plate with.  PH vs LHP? Yep huge upgrade there.

People likely will be disappointed  with the $$$. 4-5 is a joke offer. Expect this approaching 8.5-11 mil a year.

[AJOHNSON104]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:22 AM, brewcrewdue80 said:

People likely will be disappointed  with the $$$. 4-5 is a joke offer. Expect this approaching 8.5-11 mil a year.

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I think this is the concern most people have. Generally an OK addition. At $5 million people will love it and the love goes down as the price goes up. It appears that the price for bats is up from the last two years, so while I would prefer a deal around $7-9 per year, I won't be surprised if its 10+. If we had a higher budget, not a big difference, but every $1-2 million adds up.  

[stalton]

One thing that I've observed from DS is that not all great moves are splashy when they are made.  I'm optimisticly hopeful.

[Robocaller]

  On 3/15/2022 at 12:30 AM, folly412 said:

That's not how you spell Castellanos.

Good news is he can't be worse than JBJ.

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Offensively.

[Zad Fnark]

Oddly, going the other way, the Pirates picked up Vogelbach.

[Brock Beauchamp]

  On 3/15/2022 at 2:24 AM, Eye Black said:

BTW, enjoying the new forum interface, but a little disappointed I can’t like my own comments. 

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Every time someone says this, I'm taken back to this delightful meme from a decade ago.

[StearnsFTW]

Tough to truly evaluate this without knowing the money.  I hope to god it's not 8+.  That strikes me as unlikely.  I'm thinking 5-6.  Hope I'm right.

 

[Jopal78]

  On 3/15/2022 at 1:10 PM, StearnsFTW said:

Tough to truly evaluate this without knowing the money.  I hope to god it's not 8+.  That strikes me as unlikely.  I'm thinking 5-6.  Hope I'm right.

 

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There's no way, McCutchen signed this quickly for just 5-6 million dollars.

The going rate for veteran outfielders on one year deals last year seemed to be about 8-10 million dollars. Joc Pederson made 7.5 million last year, Eddie Rosario made 8 million. McCutchen while a little bit older than those players, also had a better offensive season than both. Kyle Schwarber played on a one year deal for 10 million. 

Therefore, I would proffer a guess McCutchen isn't playing for anything less than 8 million this year, and most likely will have a mutual option for 2023 with a buyout of a couple million dollars to push the AAV up over 10 million.

[sveumrules]

In the FanGraphs Top 50 Free Agents article Ben Clemens had McCutchen at 2/14 while the median crowdsource came in at 2/24.

Seems like a pretty reasonable range & would be more or less in line with the JBJ & Avisail contracts from the last couple off seasons.

[brewers888]

  On 3/15/2022 at 1:50 AM, PeaveyFury said:

Yep. I think there’s a good chance they’ve got one more significant acquisition coming.

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Do you have any possibilities in mind because this looks like the lineup we are going with and the possibility of a mediocre deadline acquisition like last season. With the way our lineup performed last season I was hoping we would aim quite a bit higher than this and if McCutchen and Renfroe are our big adds that would be quite disappointing to say the least. 

[brewerfan82]

Stearns' MO in the past has been to wait out the market and grab overlooked players later on. So I would guess if there is another significant acquisition it would depend on who's leftover after this initial surge of transactions.

[PeaveyFury]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:10 PM, brewerfan82 said:

Stearns' MO in the past has been to wait out the market and grab overlooked players later on. So I would guess if there is another significant acquisition it would depend on who's leftover after this initial surge of transactions.

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Bingo. That's exactly my expectation. It'll be a name completely out of the blue but logical ala Wong last year, IMO.

[sveumrules]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:04 PM, brewers888 said:

Do you have any possibilities in mind because this looks like the lineup we are going with and the possibility of a mediocre deadline acquisition like last season. With the way our lineup performed last season I was hoping we would aim quite a bit higher than this and if McCutchen and Renfroe are our big adds that would be quite disappointing to say the least. 

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McCutchen & Renfroe combined for 3.7 WAR last year, which is a 4.4 WAR improvement over JBJ’s -0.7 WAR.

An extra two months of Adames could be worth another couple wins compared to last year.

Even if there hasn’t been a sexy move the needle appears to have maybe moved anyway.

Obviously there’s a lot of off-season left, but FanGraphs thinks this is one of the better teams in the NL as currently constructed…

https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds

 

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:17 PM, PeaveyFury said:

Bingo. That's exactly my expectation. It'll be a name completely out of the blue but logical ala Wong last year, IMO.

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I read this, and Trevor Story flashed across my mind.

[NBBrewFan]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:23 PM, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

I read this, and Trevor Story flashed across my mind.

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For me it was Rizzo. Seems the market is weak for him and he could be had for the right money.  I'm conflicted based on hating him for his Cubbies roots.  Naw, too pricey for the Brewers.  Or not?

[nate82]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:40 PM, NBBrewFan said:

For me it was Rizzo. Seems the market is weak for him and he could be had for the right money.  I'm conflicted based on hating him for his Cubbies roots.  Naw, too pricey for the Brewers.  Or not?

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With Olson traded I think the Yankees will now focus on Rizzo.  

The market for Conforto has been very quiet.  I think he is going to be someone who will be hanging around for awhile and may even not sign until the draft compensation is no longer attached to him.  

Castellanos is another who's market is unknown.  The only team that I have seen attached to him lately are the Marlins.

[Jopal78]

  On 3/15/2022 at 4:53 PM, nate82 said:

With Olson traded I think the Yankees will now focus on Rizzo.  

The market for Conforto has been very quiet.  I think he is going to be someone who will be hanging around for awhile and may even not sign until the draft compensation is no longer attached to him.  

Castellanos is another who's market is unknown.  The only team that I have seen attached to him lately are the Marlins.

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Castellanos opted out of a two year 34 million dollar guarantee. I agree, there likely is one or two more players the Brewers will still acquire. However, Castellanos most likely will not be one as he is obviously seeking something more than 2 yrs and 34 million. 

In fact, it would turn out to have been a pretty poor decision by Castellanos if he ends up taking a significant pay-cut in AAV or not getting additional years.