Does Andrew McCutchen Do Anything For You?

At the onset of the off-season, the Minnesota Twins were in dire need of a big, right-handed bat that could be penciled into the middle of the lineup for the 2023 season and beyond. Carlos Correa was their primary target, but all signs seem to indicate he is landing elsewhere.

Not only that, but many of their fallback options to fit that role were signed by other teams in the meantime. While Joey Gallo is a solid, albeit misplaced addition from the left-handed side of the batter’s box, the club could still use a reinforcement on the other side of the plate. 

Enter Andrew McCutchen. 

He certainly fits this front office’s pattern of finding veteran hitters whose market isn’t developing as fruitfully as they’d like. But could the former MVP make a positive impact if he were to land with the Twins? His 2022 was rather unexciting, but he is only one year removed from a 27-home run season and has had a great clubhouse reputation throughout his career.

Is that enough to make unsatisfied Twins fans forget about Correa? Of course not. But the former star shortstop is all but gone. As Ferris Buehler said: you’re still here? It’s over. Go home.

The question isn’t whether McCutchen would be better than Correa. But rather, how much of an improvement would he be over their current fourth-outfielder options such as Gilberto Celestino and Kyle Garlick.

These two are currently the only other right-handed outfield options beyond Byron Buxton. With the assumption that the star centerfielder will need to see some time at designated hitter and on the bench entirely, their backup plans need to be solidified. Gallo presents a solid defender in center field when that happens, but it would be prudent to have a capable right-handed hitter slide into a corner outfield spot should the opposing pitcher be a southpaw. 

McCutchen shouldn’t be counted on to hold a majority share of an outfield platoon. After all, he only saw 53 games in the field last season, with his remaining 82 games played coming from the designated hitter slot.

However, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to count on him for spot starts in the field. Despite his -11 outs above average over the last three years, he still possessed speed in the 90th percentile in 2022. He may not be the show-stealing, defensive star that he once was, but maybe he could thrive in a supporting role if he’s willing to accept it at this stage of his career.

Celestino presents a younger internal option that has had little success offensively so far in his major league career (.222/.292/.300, 71 wRC+) and has been relatively neutral on defense (0 OAA, -2.4 UZR). Those uninspiring numbers mixed with his lapses in judgment that became all too familiar in 2022 signify that he could use more seasoning at Triple-A.

Garlick was rather great as a strict, right-handed platoon in the outfield (.243/.305/.500, 128 wRC+ vs. left-handed pitchers). But he too was limited by injuries in 2022, and was slightly worse than Celestino on defense (-3 OAA, -3.3 UZR). 

Again, McCutchen didn’t have his finest season in 2022, as made evident by his .237/.316/.384 (98 wRC+) slashline on the year. But that overall figure includes a disastrous first eight weeks of the season. From June 5th on, McCutchen had a stellar .252/.343/.427 (118 wRC+) and appeared in nearly every game for the Brewers. That line is spot-on when compared to his combined slashline of .244/.352/.436 (114 wRC+) from 2018-2021.

His performance against lefties after getting back on track starting on June 6th was exactly what the Twins could use in 2023 and beyond. He hit a whopping .245/.345/.479 (131 wRC+) against southpaws from that point on. If the Twins could get that version to show up in a potentially more-limited role, it would be a huge boost to the offense. 

That’s a big if for a player going into their age-36 season. While he’s a fun player to root for with some upside, there’s still plenty of red flags when it comes to his fit with the Twins. Whether it’s his age, diminishing defensive metrics, his inability to hit sliders or lack of true star-level upside, McCutchen is far from a perfect player.

Not to mention, the Twins decision-makers have a reputation for sticking with a struggling veteran for far too long in recent years, as was the case for players such as JA Happ, Matt Shoemaker and Andrelton Simmons. Would they be able to pull the plug if McCutchen got off to another horrid start?

It’s clear that McCutchen won’t save the Twins after they lost out on re-signing Correa. It’s a huge task to replace a superstar shortstop in the prime of their career. He’s not the big bat that the Twins desperately needed when the off-season began. But there is certainly a lot that the former MVP could do to marginally improve the team on the field and in the clubhouse. 

Does he do anything for you?