The New York Yankees are keen on bringing in another outfield for the stretch run as Aaron Judge recovers from a wrist injury that will sideline him for three weeks. Among those names is former National League MVP and San Francisco Giants outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have “soft interest” in the 31-year-old, though New York has other targets ahead of him.
With just hours remaining until Major League Baseball’s deadline, though, the Yankees could very well resort to making McCutchen a top priority depending on how a market which has been dormant for much of Tuesday plays out.
McCutchen is having a difficult season with the Giants in 2018 his first with the club after spending nine years with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he was once considered a top outfielder in the game.
In 104 games this year, he is batting just .258 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI. It’s a far cry from his career averages of .288 with 24 home runs and 86 RBI per 162 games.
He has also made a full-time move to right field after experiencing a downturn in his defensive performance in center field during his Pittsburgh days. So far it’s been a solid move as he has a fielding percentage of .990.
Per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Phillies and Indians were also interested in McCutchen. However, Cleveland just acquired Leonys Martin from the Detroit Tigers, which would take it out of the race.
The general consensus right now is that the Giants probably won’t be trading McCutchen, though it is not a definite yet, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The Giants sit 5.5 games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, but sit in fourth in the division.
