The deal that sent Andrew McCutchen out of Pittsburgh was one of the most painful for Pirates fans in recent memory.
"Cutch" was the face of the franchise for its resurgence into the post-season 2013-2015.
But if you put your passion aside, that deal has worked out pretty well for the Pirates.
The got relief pitcher Kyle Crick, outfielder Bryan Reynolds and $500,000 in international pool money.
While Crick isn't exactly having a stellar year (1-1 with a 4.63 ERA and 1.329 WHIP), Reynolds is having an All-Star season, bouncing back from a down 2020.
While there is plenty of talk around trading Adam Frazier, the Pirates will hopefully keep Reynolds around to be a centerpiece of their next contending team in a couple seasons.
The Pirates still control Reynolds for the next four seasons, with his first year of arbitration in 2022.
He doesn't become an unrestricted free agent until 2026.
While McCutchen is absolutely on fire right now in Philadelphia, hitting .307 with six home runs (two grand slams) and 25 RBI since the beginning of June, the 34-year-old McCutchen is getting older and his season batting average is .233
So while the deal seemed like the worst at the time, the Pirates have a .305 average All-Star centerfielder with 92 hits, 48 RBI and 15 home runs. You'll take that every day of the week.
And McCutchen may have hit his way into trade discussions for the Phillies (who are currently in 4th in the East and 4.5 Games out of first).
Bucs have Reynolds for the foreseeable future and Cutch gets traded to a team competing for the Postseason. The best of both worlds.
