When the Bucs brought up McCutchen, they also traded Nate. While it might have looked like they were doing so to give Andrew the job in center, what they actually did was trade Nate so that Garrett Jones would get a corner OF position instead of Nate. They could have put Nate in LF but instead they traded him and gave Garrett an opportunity.
Looking at their numbers for 2009:
Age Games HR SB/CS Avg/OBP/SLG/OPS
Nate McLouth 28 84 11 12/6 .257/.354/.419/.773
Garrett Jones 28 82 21 10/2 .293/.372/.567/.938
Sure looks to me that the Bucs made the right decision!
Looking forward to 2010, is anyone not convinced that Bucs have the better person in LF? While Nate maybe a better fielder, Garrett’s offense could be as good or better. And they both are the same age! Plus Garrett is cheaper!