11:46 AM: The deal is official. The Yankees have acquired Andrew McCutchen from the San Francisco Giants along with cash considerations in exchange for minor league infielder Abiatal Avelino and minor league righty Juan De Paula.
The cash considerations are no small matter. McCutchen is not owed much for the remainder of the year -- only about $2.5 million -- but as both the Giants and the Yankees are very close to the luxury tax threshold and do not wish to exceed it, they needed to split that money up in a pretty precise way.
McCutchen will be with the Yankees for the season’s final month and, as it appears likely, the Wild Card game. If they proceed beyond that it’ll be the playoffs followed by free agency for the 2013 NL MVP. For now, he’ll look like this, absent the beard of course:
It's August 31st and Andrew McCutchen is a New York Yankee. pic.twitter.com/yuIWnZrkeo
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 31, 2018
THURSDAY: ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Yankees have acquired outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the Giants in exchange for a pair of prospects. One of those prospects is middle infielder Abiatal Avelino, Sherman notes. The other prospect is not yet known.
Aaron Judge has taken longer than expected to recover from a fractured wrist, so McCutchen gives them some extra punch until Judge comes back.
McCutchen, 31, has hit .255/.357/.415 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI in 568 plate appearances this season with the Giants. He’s owed the remainder of his $14.75 million salary and is a free agent after the season.
Avelino, 23, is rated as the No. 23 prospect in the Yankees’ system. This season, between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Avelino hit .287/.333/.446 with 15 home runs and 66 RBI across 501 trips to the plate.