The New York Yankees have acquired outfielder and 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen and cash from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for two prospects, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Per Hoch, San Francisco will receive 23-year-old infielder Abiatal Avelino and pitcher Juan De Paula, the Yankees 23rd and 26th ranked prospects by MLB Pipeline, respectively.
The Yankees get valuable outfield depth as they continue to await the return of slugger Aaron Judge, who's been out since late July with a wrist injury. New York currently occupies the top wild card spot in the American League, and they're nine games clear of the Seattle Mariners, who trail the Oakland Athletics by 4.5 games for the second spot.
The 31-year-old McCutchen hasn't put up his usual All-Star numbers, but he's been effective with a .255 batting average, 15 home runs, 55 RBI and an OPS of .722. He's still drawing plenty of walks with 73, the same amount as all of last year.
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McCutchen is a free agent at the end of the season, so it's a low-risk and safe move for the Yankees. Judge still isn't swinging a bat, which is concerning for the Pinstripes, as the postseason is only a month away.
'Cutch' brings valuable insurance and has eight games of playoff experience, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates. McCutchen has a career .321 batting average and .798 OPS, and his strong clubhouse presence will be a positive addition to the Yankees.
For the Giants, they're facing their third non-playoff season in four years, and it was time to start selling off some of their roster players. McCutchen wasn't going to re-sign in San Francisco, so it only made sense to get something for him, rather than lose him for nothing.
Adding McCutchen now means the Yankees can stay calm and patiently wait for Judge's return. McCutchen isn't a 50-home run guy, but he does enough to fill the void until Judge returns to the lineup.