Courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Lorenzo Cain
While it may be a while before any official announcement, it’s possible fans of the 2022 Milwaukee Brewers saw the final act of two of the best center fielders of their era.
It’s all but certain that Lorenzo Cain played his final MLB game in June, days before the Brewers designated him for assignment. In September he told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that he received interest from teams in the days after the end of his Brewers tenure but opted to stay home with his family. Cain played just 126 games across what will likely be his last three major league seasons, having opted out early in the 2020 campaign before returning to make 78 appearances in 2021.
Cain’s MLB career began with 43 games as a Brewer in 2010 and may end with 43 as a Brewer in 2022, but he packed a lot of memorable moments in between. His career will likely be best remembered for his time in Kansas City, where he was part of the core that led the Royals to back-to-back World Series in 2014 and 2015 and won a championship. He’s played in the postseason in five different seasons (including in 2018, 2019 and 2021 with the Brewers), and his 48 playoff games played are tied for the 24th most among active players.
Batting Average, Speed and Defense
Cain was also notable for his combination of batting average, speed and defense. He batted .300 in four different seasons (including 2018 with the Brewers), something only 15 active players have done. Meanwhile, Baseball Reference estimates Cain has made his teams 16.8 wins better on defense alone (dWAR), nearly matching his offensive value. Cain was an All Star and received MVP consideration with the Royals in 2015 and Brewers in 2018 and won his lone Gold Glove Award in 2019.
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On a handful of occasions in May and June Cain shared the outfield with another of the best center fielders of his generation, Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen has made no announcement about his future plans, but he’ll be a free agent following the conclusion of the World Series, turned 36 in October and is coming off a season where his offensive numbers took a noticeable step back. Before the 2022 season McCutchen had never posted an on-base plus slugging below .766 in a full season, and this year it dropped all the way to .700. It’s possible he’ll catch on somewhere if he’s willing to accept a reduced role and a relatively small contract, but it’s just as possible that he’ll elect to be done after 14 MLB season and 1895 games.
McCutchen was a perennial MVP candidate for the Pirates during his five-year peak from 2011-2015, and won the award in 2013. He led the National League in hits in 2012 and on-base plus slugging in 2014, making him one of the best offensive players in his league at a time when he was also playing one of the sport’s most demanding defensive positions. McCutchen generated value in a different way from Cain: He was not an elite defender in center (although he did win a Gold Glove in 2012), but still gets credit for being a solid defender at a difficult position while also being an elite run producer. This season he became the 51st player in AL/NL history with 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases.
Photo via Twitter / Andrew McCutchen
Andrew McCutchen
Staying Healthy
Over the course of his career McCutchen also generated a lot of value by staying healthy and being in the lineup every day. Over a nine-year span from 2010-18 he averaged 155 games played and batted .287 with a .379 on-base and .482 slugging despite playing center field nearly every day. He also played in four different MLB postseasons, including every playoff game the Pirates have played in the last 30 years.
If this is in fact the end of the road for both Cain and McCutchen then they’ll leave as two of the best center fielders of their era. Baseball Reference has them both in the top four in Wins Above Replacement among active players with at least 500 games in center field:
- Mike Trout, 82.4 WAR
- Andrew McCutchen, 47
- Starling Marte, 38.6
- Lorenzo Cain, 38.4
Only one other active player has more than 30, and only two more have more than 20. Both McCutchen and Cain will almost certainly receive Hall of Fame consideration, and McCutchen’s career numbers and MVP peak might be enough to earn him some support among the voters.
Even if neither player becomes a Hall of Famer, however, it would be difficult to have a conversation about the best center fielders in recent history without bringing up Lorenzo Cain and Andrew McCutchen, and it’s possible they spent their final season together in Milwaukee.
