Pirates looking to trade McCutchen

[12HankQB]

Antoine Dodson (hide ya kids, hide ya wife) said some dumb stuff too and he went viral so you might have a career ahead of you

[konjo78]

Cubs have a lot more trustworthy GM than the pirates. Cubs also brought in known talent too not the opposite.

[Crimson's Ghost]

The Pirates have a good general manager. Just not an unlimited checkbook. Huntington would get another GM job in a heartbeat if he quit.

[knowitall]

It's time for Neal to test the market. I would help him pack.

[peytonsaturday]

If they get Ross, Robles, AND Lopez! Holy cow, I'd do that in a heartbeat!

[knowitall]

2021 here we come.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Neal Huntington is a very good general manager.

He stopped a 20 year losing streak.

He orchestrated 3 straight playoff appearances.

He built a team in 2015 that tied a franchise-high 98 wins. 

Heck between 2013-2015, only the Cardinals won more games than the Pirates.

He's also built a top 5 farm system in baseball



And he's done all of that working for one of the worst owners in professional sports.  Anyone can see it's not the general manager, it's the owner's reluctance to spend is what is holding this team back.  Neal Huntington does an excellent job given the constraints Bob Nutting gives him.  As I said, he would get a job minutes after he left the Pirates.  His work and his resume speaks for itself. 

Now he's not without fault, some of his trades and free agent signings haven't worked out.  But no GM bats 1.000.  He's made some questionable moves, but he's made some dang good ones too.  For a franchise and a fan base that has only known losing, he really changed that in his time here.  I can't fault him for the big picture, because that's on the owner.  



Now for the McCutchen talk, I think there's a good argument to both sides.  To make the case for keeping him is pretty easy.  He could bounce back and be very good again.  He's 30, not 39, there's still ability there.  McCutchen's speed isn't what it used to be, and his defense has always been iffy, but there's no denying his bat in the middle of the lineup is very valuable, and still can be.  He finished 2016 fairly well given the hole he dug himself from April to August.  McCutchen probably can still give you .290 24 HR and 90 RBI.  He can still come up with clutch hits and make some big plays.   Not to mention he is the face of Pittsburgh baseball.  He is a superstar and one of the game's most recognizable players. He's great for the Pittsburgh community.  People love him here. Not only that, he's the leader of the team.  They go as he goes.  He had a rough season, so did the Pirates.  He was an elite player the three prior years, and well the team was much better.  Not one guy makes a team go, but he sure seems to have a hand in the Pirates' success. 


Now there's also the fact that he may not be that good ever again.  The strikeouts can continue to mount, the defense continues to be sub-par and we can see him hover around .250 again next season. That's still an all-too realistic possibility.  Some guys don't age well in this game.  The guys that do are impressive, but McCutchen's regression last season was historically bad.  There were articles about it.  Usually it's a slow and steady decline, but he flat out went from MVP level to replacement level in one season.  It's unheard of, and nobody ever figured out why.  Was he hurt? Was he unhappy? Or did he really just lose it?  We can't say for certain. 


On the other side of the coin, trading McCutchen now makes sense in that, he has 2 years at a team friendly deal.  So even coming off a bad season, there's still value for other teams because there's two years on the deal.  There's value because the contract, while high for a team like the Pirates, isn't for teams like the Nationals or Dodges. So they can part ways with some top prospects or a #3 starting pitcher, because there still may be upside for McCutchen.  He did finish strong as I mentioned above, and he isn't all that far removed from being in a final MVP vote. 

Either way it looks, this won't be a popular move.  It won't be popular for some fans, because they like McCutche.  It won't be popular for others, because they see it as "same old Pirates, just a salary dump" and both of those arguments overlap for a lot of other people.   There's also the fact that whatever the Pirates bring back won't be good, or won't be enough.  People probably overvalue what McCutchen's overall value is worth to other teams.   To many Pirates' fans, he's invaluable because of how good he was and how well he's liked. So I would imagine opposing GM's don't view him the way we view him.  


The thing for the immediate future is, trading McCutchen isn't necessarily the white flag for next season. They still have pieces around that can help them compete, and at the end of the day whether McCutchen is on the Pirates or not, the Cubs are still a better team.  And that's just the reality of it.  

I think we have to see what the Pirates get in return, and as I've said, people aren't going to be wowed whether it's a good return or not, most of the emotions will be the fact that McCutchen isn't a Pirate anymore, not what's coming back in return.  It could be a solid pitcher that can help them right now, or it could be a haul of prospects that help them next year.  We'll have to see how that works out.  


I think another thing to consider is Austin Meadows, and his story relates very much to Andrew McCutchen.  The Pirates unloaded Nate McLouth mid-season in 2010 to the Braves for Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton.  It was a pretty unpopular trade at the time, but that 2010 team wasn't going anywhere anyway.  But they made that trade knowing Andrew McCutchen was ready.  And he was.  He never looked back and went from a good rookie into becoming a great All-Star caliber player.  

So there could be that sense that Austin Meadows is also ready.  They have similar pedigrees. First round, top 15 picks.  Meadows has been really good at the minor league levels, and is pretty close, if not ready, to play in the major leagues right now.   I just don't think they'd be willing to trade McCutchen without a backup plan in place, and having the top outfield prospect in all of baseball waiting in the wings isn't the worst plan in the world. I'm not saying he's going to be great, but he very well could turn into a good player.  


I think it comes back full circle to how the Pirates run their organization.  They keep one foot in the present and one to the future, and that's a tough way to survive sometimes.   The window of 2013, 2014, and 2015 was a good one.  Did they win it all?  No.  But I believe they had teams good enough to do so.  It just didn't happen.  The MLB playoffs can tend to be unpredictable.  But they had rosters good enough to be right there in my opinion.  But back to the future/present argument.  The Pirates may be losing that core of McCutchen/Alvarez/Walker but they have the Marte/Polanco/Cole/Kang/Taillon core still around, with the Glasnow/Bell/Meadows group knocking on the door.   The way they have this set up, they are making themselves competitive for the long haul, year in and year out but by doing that, they sacrifice going "all-in" on a one or two year windows. 


I don't expect them to go back into the doldrums of the 1990's.  They'll make the playoffs, maybe not every year, but they'll have runs in the next five seasons, they're designed to.  The problem is, it's hard ever picturing them just going for it all just once.  They seem reluctant to do it, and it is 100% a commitment to spending issue.  


I know I rambled, but that's just my read on things right now.  Do I want them to trade McCutchen?  No. I really like McCutchen. I'd love to root for him to get back to his old self. 

Do I get why they may trade him.  Of course. It's sports. 

[voncap]

Talk of a McCutchen trade is not a new rumor.   That rumor has been swirling around since the end of the season.    Making a trade for McCutchen could easily be passed off as a baseball move because as others have mentioned, they have a replacement (Meadows) ready so there would be a plan b if the trade occurs.  

The news that appears to be the most damning indication of the Pirates financial situation  is the rumor that the Pirates are also looking to move Josh Harrison.   His contract should be by no means a burden to the team's overall payroll and worse there is no ready replacement waiting in the wings.    If McCutchen goes, Harrison's annual salary will be the second highest on the team.  If the Pirates cannot afford  7 mill/yr players, things are really bad.

[Crimson's Ghost]

I think they are trying to get rid of the player, not the contract in Josh Harrison.

[lgb87cape]

Jung Ho is next. DUI in South Korea...