The rebuild is officially on in Pittsburgh.

 

On Monday, two days after sending Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates have traded franchise player Andrew McCutchen and cash to the San Francisco Giants for right-handed pitcher Kyle Crick, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, and international bonus pool money. The Pirates confirmed the trade on Twitter.

 

Earlier this offseason the Giants were in on Giancarlo Stanton -- they agreed to a trade with the Miami Marlins only to have Stanton veto it with his no-trade clause -- so it was no secret they wanted to upgrade their outfield. In fact, prior to the McCutchen deal, FanGraphs projected San Francisco to have the worst outfield in baseball. 

 

McCutchen was one of several Pirates players who figured to be on the move in the wake of the Cole trade. He had been on the trade block since last offseason, and the Giants had been interested in him for weeks.

 

In addition to McCutchen, the Giants have also added Evan Longoria this offseason, so they've acquired two players who were the faces of their old franchise.