5 teams who should trade for Andrew McCutchen

Philadelphia Phillies

The rebuilding process is going quite well for the Phillies. The final vestiges of the 2008 World Series team, Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard are now gone from the roster. Of all the teams in the league in a deep rebuild — the Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds — Philadelphia is the furthest along.

The Phillies have already accomplished the most difficult part of a rebuild in getting a handful of young, exciting pitchers to the big leagues. The group of Vince Velasquez, Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Alec Asher have a very bright future. Throw in Jeremy Hellickson, who returns on the qualifying offer, and the Phillies have a rotation that could potentially pitch them into contention next year if all the pieces fall into place.

Outside of the rotation, the Phillies do have some glaring holes in their lineup that cannot be filled immediately by a prospect. Corner outfield is an area of need, and the Phillies do have more than enough prospects thanks to their rebuild to target a player like McCutchen. J.P. Crawford, the team’s top prospect, would be untouchable, but Philadelphia has an overabundance of outfield and pitching prospects who could interest the Pirates. A top prospect and infielder Cesar Hernandez might get the deal done.

With a well-timed trade for an asset like McCutchen, the Phillies may be able to move up their rebuilding process by a full year and vault themselves back into contention a year early. With plenty of money saved up for eventual free agents like Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, Philadelphia’s years of losing can be a thing of the past in short order.