Wednesday BP: Andrew McCutchen re-signs with Pittsburgh Pirates

Good morning, baseball fans!

Not a lot of news out of the San Francisco Giants so far this week, so I started digging through the archives for This Date In Giants History type content. And I was reminded that the Giants landed Andrew McCutchen in a trade this week in 2018. It reminded me of how much fun that was, and how there was some excitement going into the 2018 season.

It was the second of two trades that saw the Giants absconding with players who had been long-time faces of their respective franchises. The first of which was Evan Longoria, who had played the first ten years of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays. Similarly, McCutchen had played the first nine years of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The McCutchen trade was one of the few times I can remember being just a little bit giddy about a trade or free agency signing the Giants had made, because McCutchen is just one of the most genuinely fun and likeable guys in the game. It was really cool to have him on the team. It was, of course, short-lived, as the Giants traded him to the New York Yankees late in what would ultimately be a losing season. But it was fun, nonetheless.

McCutchen now gets a chance to go back to where it all began, as he signed with the Pirates again over the weekend. It’s reportedly a one-year, $5 million deal that will give him a chance to play for the franchise he came up with, and offer a nice reunion with a fanbase who haven’t had a winning season since the year he was traded.