The San Francisco Giants have had trade talks with the Pittsburgh Pirates surrounding Andrew McCutchen, according to a report.
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi says the teams had recent contact about a McCutchen trade. However, he says the Giants’ reluctance to part with any of their top prospects, especially after trading a top prospect in the Evan Longoria deal last month, could stand in the way of a trade.
Another factor that could stand in the way of a trade is the available free agent outfielders. J.D. Martinez, Lorenzo Cain, Jay Bruce and Carlos Gonzalez are all outfielders who could make sense for the Giants, who are looking for an upgrade. San Francisco has also had trade talks involving Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton.
McCutchen, 31, is set to make $14.5 million entering the final year of his contract. His production has fallen off since his peak from 2012-2015 when he made the All-Star team each season and was NL MVP, but he had a nice bounceback season last year. He batted .279 with 30 doubles, 28 home runs and an .849 OPS.
The Giants have made it known that they want an impact bat. Bruce would make a lot of sense for them, but they may be trying to wait for his price to drop.
