The Phillies big move at the winter meetings this year was the signing of Andrew McCutchen. How much better does this addition make the outfield.
The Phillies‘ signing of Andrew McCutchen was largely overshadowed by all the rumors swirling at the MLB Winter Meetings. Given the team’s pursuit of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper while in Las Vegas, it was easy for the addition of McCutchen to fly under the radar.
With the dust settled and everyone back home from Vegas, we can now give a more in-depth look at how McCutchen can impact Philadelphia’s outfield throughout his three-year, $50 million contract.
First off, no one should be expecting the McCutchen of his prime. He was an All-Star five straight times with the Pirates from 2011 to 2015. During this time, he was worth 31.2 wins above replacement, had a .905 OPS, 152 OPS+, and a .302/.396/.509 line. He won four Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove in 2012, and National League MVP in 2013.
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Despite this, McCutchen remains a productive player. He finished the 2018 season with a .255/.368/.424 line, 120 wRC+, 118 OPS+, 20 home runs, 65 runs batted in, and 2.6 Fangraphs wins above replacements. Rhys Hoskins was the only qualifying Phillie who finished with a better OPS+, wRC+, and fWAR.
Taking a look at how Philadelphia’s outfield performed as a whole, McCutchen should be a significant boost.
Altogether, they finished 2018 with a .241/.325/.430 line and 105 wRC+, which was largely propped up by Hoskins. Nick Williams was the only other outfielder with over 60 plate appearances who finished with a wRC+ above 100 (league-average).
McCutchen will fill the offensive void left by Hoskins in the outfield as he moves back to first base. While McCutchen may stack up against the top outfielders in this free agent class, he is a significantly better option than Aaron Altherr.
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McCutchen should also be a massive upgrade defensively in right field next year. Last year, Philadelphia’s right fielders finished the season with -26 defensive runs saved (DRS) and a -12.7 UZR/150. McCutchen finished 2018 with two DRS and a -0.5 UZR/150, not necessarily great but a significant improvement relatively speaking.
A resulting effect from McCutchen playing in right field will be Williams or Altherr in left, both of whom are better served playing there. Altherr has a career 3.7 UZR/150 and four DRS in 727.1 innings in left and two DRS and -1.4 UZR/150 in 1167.1 innings in right. Meanwhile, Williams has -2 DRS and -2.1 UZR/150 in 193.0 innings in left and -15 DRS and -15.4 UZR/150 in 1251.1 innings in right.
Offensively, McCutchen is now one of the best hitters on the team. Defensively, he serves as an upgrade in right field while allowing players better served for left field to play there. Early on, McCutchen should be an overall upgrade without a huge contract.