MLB Roundup 12/12: Andrew McCutchen signs in Philadelphia

Andrew McCutchen signs with Phillies

The Phillies have long been expected to be among the busiest and most prolific teams this winter given their large market size, TV deal and the fact that they haven’t spent much for a few years during their rebuild. Their owner even went as far as to publicly state that they would spent “stupid money” during the offseason. They are connected to both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado as well as former Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, but they made a slightly smaller move on Tuesday. In the first big(ish) move of the Winter Meetings, the Phillies signed former MVP and former Yankee Andrew McCutchen to a three-year deal worth around $50 million. McCutchen is obviously not the guy he once was, but he is also better than he looked for much of 2018 and still holds some star power. The outfielder also spent the majority of his career on the other side of Pennsylvania, too, though from what I understand about the workings of that state (not much!) Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are basically in two separate states. As for how this affects the rest of the winter, this could theoretically mean Bryce Harper is more likely to sign elsewhere, but the Phillies insist they still have room for another outfielder. Keep all of the good players in the National League, in my opinion. Also, I hope this means Cutch grows his hair and beard back.

Blue Jays release Troy Tulowitzki

Life comes at you fast. It wasn’t all that long ago that Troy Tulowitzki was legitimately the best shortstop in baseball and one of the truly elite players in the entire game. For a time, he may have had an argument to be number one. Things change quickly, though, and basically ever since the Blue Jays traded for him in the offseason before the 2015 season, he’s had awful luck. Injuries have always plagued the former Rockies star, but they’ve been even more of a drag since getting to Toronto and they’ve affected his performance as well as his playing time. After three years of this, the Blue Jays have decided to move on and officially released him on Tuesday. I’m fascinated by what is going to happen next in his career, and would love to see him bounce back somewhere, though preferably not in the AL East. Tulowitzki looked to be on a Hall of Fame track just a few years ago. Now I’m hoping he can find a job as a 34-year-old. Baseball can be cruel.