Former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen is heading back to the National League Central.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Monday evening that McCutchen has agreed to terms with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Outfielder Andrew McCutchen and the Milwaukee Brewers are in agreement on a contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 14, 2022
The Brewers are coming off of a successful season in 2021. They went 95-67 and cruised to the NL Central Division championship. Despite that, the Milwaukee offense was middle-of-the-pack. The Brewers finished the season 12th in runs scored, 18th in home runs and 23rd in slugging percentage.
That showed in the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. Milwaukee won the first game but dropped the next three to lose the series 3-1, with two of the three losses being shutouts.
A particular hole in the Brewers’ 2021 lineup was in left field. Milwaukee left fielders hit 15 home runs and slugged .363. Both totals were in MLB’s bottom-10 during the 2021 season.
McCutchen hit only .222 for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2021 season, but still had a .334 OBP. The power was also there for him. McCutchen slugged .444 and hit 27 home runs. That was the third-highest home run total of his career and six more than he hit in his MVP season of 2013 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
McCutchen is not the overall player or even hitter that he was during his prime years in Pittsburgh. But based on his 2021 production, he’ll be a left field upgrade for the Brewers.
