The Brewers’ big free agent signing of the last offseason, Andrew McCutchen, is next up in our 2022 season report card series. The Brewers’ signing of Cutch prior to the 2022 season was an exciting deal that brought a former MVP and a power bat to Milwaukee as the team chased a fifth consecutive playoff berth.
Offensive Grade: B-
McCutchen was acquired largely for his bat. However, the former MVP put up some of his worst numbers to date in Milwaukee with a .237 batting average and his first slugging percentage under .420 at .384. Compared to expectations, McCutchen’s overall performance behind the plate was a bit of a disappointment. He was streaky this season (remember his 0-32 streak at the start of the summer), but he was still productive with the bat, especially considering this was his 35-year-old season. Especially in the early part of the season, Cutch brought some fire to the offense. Even in a statistically down year, Cutch was still fairly consistent when compared to some of the rest of the Brewers’ lineup.
Defensive Grade: B
Cutch split time between playing as designated hitter and in the outfield. While the majority of his time was as the DH, he still saw a fair amount of time fielding, especially in left field. McCutchen wasn’t anything remarkable in the outfield, but he wasn’t too shabby either. As he continues to get older, he’ll see even more time in the DH role moving forward but his ability to play the field is still valuable.
Overall 2022 Season Grade: B
Cutch earns some bonus points for his veteran presence and dugout energy (and his Twitter clapbacks). Though this was his first season with the Crew, McCutchen quickly endeared himself to both the team and fans alike. He brought out the best in his teammates and had fun with the team, like introducing the Infinity Gauntlet to the dugout. Having an experienced player like Cutch be so involved with and supportive of his teammates helped the team a lot.
This handshake between Andrew McCutchen and Brent Suter 😂😂
🎥: @Brewerspic.twitter.com/1Lgd37hEEh
— FanSided (@FanSided) May 1, 2022
However, it seems that his first season in Milwaukee will be McCutchen’s last. Cutch became a free agent at the end of the 2022 season and has not been resigned. With an influx of outfield prospects on the verge of maturing to the Major League level as well as the Crew’s trade for Jesse Winker and acquisition of Blake Perkins, a reunion with McCutchen seems improbable and probably unnecessary. McCutchen has not signed elsewhere yet, but will be a valuable veteran presence to whichever team ends up picking him up.
To keep up with the rest of our 2022 report cards, click here.
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