In the space of less than 24 hours two former MVPs have been traded. Last night, the San Francisco Giants traded outfielder Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees while earlier this evening the Toronto Blue Jays traded Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians.
McCutchen earned the NL MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013 when the Bucs reached the post-season for the first time in 21 seasons while Donaldson won the AL MVP in 2015 as the Jays reached the post-season for the first time in 22 seasons.
The Yankees coveted McCutchen during the off-season, but the Pirates instead sent him to the San Francisco Giants ending his 9 year stint in the Steel City. In 130 games with the Giants this season, McCutchen hit .255 with 15 HR and 55 RBI. Decent numbers but not the numbers he put up when he earned five consecutive NL All-Star Team selections between 2011 and 2015. He won't make up for the absence of Aaron Judge in the lineup, but he will give some relief to Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield.
Injuries have limited Donaldson to 36 games this season. But he now reunites with former Jays teammate Edwin Encarnacion. With something to fight for, Donaldson could get some key hits for Cleveland in October and increase his value in the free agent market. McCutchen is also a free agent at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, the exodus continues in D.C. as the Washington Nationals have sent starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez to the Milwaukee Brewers and reliever Ryan Madson to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The trade of Gonzalez is particularly significant as he has been a member of the Nats' starting rotation since 2012 when he won a career high 21 games. After finishing sixth in NL Cy Young balloting in 2017, Gonzalez is having a subpar season with a 7-11 record and a 4.57 ERA in 27 starts. But he is durable and will give the Brewers much needed innings in September as they hope to reach the post-season for the first time since 2011.
Like Gonzalez, Madson is not having a banner year after an excellent one last year. In 2017, Madson posted a combined ERA of 1.83 with the Oakland A's and Washington Nationals. In 2018, his ERA is 5.28. But Madson provides the Dodgers' bullpen some depth as the team may miss the post-season for the first time since 2012 if either the Arizona Diamondbacks or Colorado Rockies have anything to say about it.
There is going to be a lot more of this coming from the Nats as they enter rebuilding mode in what is sure to become the post-Bryce Harper era in D.C.
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