In his first public comments since being traded to the Giants, Andrew McCutchen expressed his love for the city where he began his storied baseball career.
McCutchen, acquired Monday afternoon by San Francisco from the Pirates in exchange for two players, addressed reporters on a conference call Tuesday, giving the former National League MVP an opportunity to reflect on the past and look to the future.
Although the 31-year-old said he is excited to be joining the Giants, he admitted it was emotional learning of his departure.
"How much time you got?" he said. "To put it all in a nutshell, we have a lot to be excited about. We have a lot to be thankful for. We're very thankful for everything we have gone through, thankful for everything that has happened, thankful for the Pirates and the organization, for them having faith in me that I could be the player they felt I could be. We're thankful for that."
McCutchen, the face of the Pirates' franchise, said he had been anticipating the trade for more than a month since he was the subject of rumors for much of the offseason. It did not become a reality, though, until Monday.
That's when McCutchen received two calls from Neal Huntington. The first was to inform him that the initial report of a trade being complete was incorrect, although Huntington told McCutchen the Pirates were indeed in talks with the Giants.
Later in the day, Huntington called again, but this time the trade was indeed official. McCutchen, who spent nine seasons with the Pirates, was dealt, along with cash considerations, to the Giants in exchange for right-handed reliever Kyle Crick, minor league outfielder Bryan Reynolds and international bonus pool money.
"Definitely the anticipation was high on my end, just because my name had been circulating a little bit," McCutchen said. "It was more of an anticipation, wondering if it was going to happen or it wasn't. When the reality of that hit, the emotions were definitely high. That comes with it. We're very excited, me and my family. We're excited and looking forward to the next chapter of our lives."
That next chapter will be him playing for one of the top teams in the National League. Earlier this offseason, the Giants acquired Rays third baseman Evan Longoria and they are still in the market for another outfielder.
Additionally, the club will likely add another starting pitcher and more help for the bullpen. After the Giants won only 64 games this past season, they decided to add to their veteran-laden lineup, rather than turn to a youth movement.
It appears McCutchen has been part of their plans for quite some time, too, as Giants executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean told reporters on a conference call that McCutchen was "kind of the apple of our eye in the offseason."
However, it wasn't initially clear where McCutchen would fit in their lineup. The Giants traded center fielder Denard Span to acquire Longoria, creating holes in the outfield.
McCutchen was the Pirates' starting center fielder for eight seasons before he was informed last March that he'd be moving to right with Starling Marte taking over in center. McCutchen played only 13 games there before Marte was suspended for 80 games, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion that he'd return to center field for the Pirates.
Clint Hurdle allowed McCutchen to make the decision.
"When I went to him in St. Louis and asked him about how we're going to reshuffle, I told him, 'If you want to stay in right field you can stay in right field. You've put your heart and soul into it. You've committed to it,' " Hurdle said at the Winter Meetings last month. "I'm good. I'm honoring your -- you've taken one for the team, you've done this for the team. We hit him second. We moved him to right. How do you feel you're best served moving forward? Keep the team in mind. Keep yourself in mind. And he got back to me about three hours later. He said, 'I'll go back to centerfield.' "
Well, he's going back to right field. Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Tuesday that McCutchen will play right with Hunter Pence moving over to left field. The decision came after McCutchen showed some improvement in center field during 2017, but his defense there has declined in recent seasons.
According to outs above average — a range-based metric that accounts for the number of plays an outfielder makes and their difficulty — McCutchen went from being, statistically, the worst center fielder in 2016 to average in 2017.
In 2013, McCutchen was worth plus-5 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs, but he has been worth a combined minus-44 defensive runs saved the past two seasons. Regardless of metrics, McCutchen has expressed confidence that he's strong enough defensively to play the position.
But he joked Tuesday when asked of his pending move back to right.
"That's one place people can't pick on me, saying my defensive metrics are so bad," McCutchen said.
He'll be reunited with former teammate Mark Melancon and is a significant addition to a lineup that will include Pence, Longoria, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt.
Despite the poor finish in 2017, the Giants remain one of the top franchises in the National League, having won at least 85 games in seven of the past nine seasons, including World Series championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Drafted 11th overall in 2005 by Dave Littlefield and Ed Creech, McCutchen batted .291/.379/.487 with 203 home runs and 725 RBI in his nine seasons with the club. He was named the National League MVP in 2013, leading the Pirates to the first of three consecutive playoff appearances.
Now, he'll try to lead the Giants back to contention, much like he did in his former home.
"The emotions are high, of course, but we're excited about what's going to happen here in the future," McCutchen said.