Philadelphia Phillies to sign Andrew McCutchen, per report

The Philadelphia Phillies have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. The deal is pending a physical.

According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, it’s a three-year deal, meaning McCutchen will be under contract through the end of the 2021 MLB season when he will be 35 years old.

McCutchen’s deal includes a club option and will pay McCutchen $50 million in total, per FanCred’s Jon Heyman.

McCutchen is a one-time most valuable player and five-time all-star. Through 10 seasons, he has played in 1,500 games, with many more to come. He spent nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded to the San Francisco Giants. Then, in the middle of 2018, the Giants sent him to the New York Yankees. He has played in more than 145 games every season since 2010, proving that he can be trusted to produce a near-full season.

He is coming off of a 2018 season where he played in 155 games, slashing .255/.368/.424 with 65 runs batted in on 145 hits, including 20 home runs. He struck out 145 times while walking 95.

The Phillies have been busy this offseason: first, they acquired shortstop Jean Segura from the Seattle Mariners, and now they sign McCutchen. The Phillies are still interested in signing some of the top free agents, too, such as J.A. Happ, Manny Machado, and Bryce Harper. They have missed out on two big free agents already, among others: Nathan Eovaldi, who they wanted as a closer but he signed with the Boston Red Sox as a starter, and Patrick Corbin, who signed a massive deal with the Washington Nationals.

The hot stove is definitely heating up at the Winter Meetings.