By Jordan Long
The New York Yankees stand at 84-50, 8.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for 1st place in the American League East. They control the Wild Card as they are 1st, 4.5 ahead of the Oakland Athletics who are 2nd. They made a trade that they anticipate will end in a long postseason run. The Yankees acquired outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the San Francisco Giants for infielder Abiatal Avelino and right handed pitcher Juan De Paula.
McCutchen isn’t putting up the numbers this year like past seasons hitting .225. He hasn’t hit with power with only 15 home runs. McCutchen can still move his teammates on the base paths in order for them to be in scoring position or to drive them home for runs.
The Yankees aren’t thinking about his power numbers but rather what McCutchen can bring to the outfield. He plays right field and center field. This season he has been in right field making only 2 errors. It is his arm which will help the Yankees the rest of the season, allowing him to catch runners advancing. He has a total of 8 outfield assists.
McCutchen should be the starting right fielder until Aaron Judge is healthy. Judge has been out since July 26th. He suffered a chip fracture in his wrist when he was hit by a pitch in the 1st inning in a game against the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees are hoping to have Judge back in time for the playoffs. Adding McCutchen gives them depth at the right field position in case Judge isn’t able to be 100% healthy.
This move is only for the rest of the season. McCutchen is going to be a free agent once the season is up. Hopefully McCutchen can contribute to help this team make a trip to the American League Championship Series or even the World Series.
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