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A team would definitely give up 2-3 top prospects to acquire McCutchen. No doubt about it.

The front office should do everything possible to lock up McCutchen for at least 5 years. If there is no progress and it's clear he doesn't want to be in Pittsburgh long term, then deal him. There is no doubt there are clubs out there that would pay hefty ransom for his presence in Center Field and at the top of the order. They have a handful of young players who are capable of being decent replacements in center. Marte has produced much better than McCutchen did at Altoona. If you can bring in 3 or 4 prospects, with at least 2 of them being top notch youngsters, then I would pull the trigger in the offseason. Don't get me wrong, I love watching McCutchen play. He plays the game hard and his talent is off the charts.

Another question the Bucs will have to look at down the road is Joel Hanrahan. He is going to want big time closer money that the pirates can't afford. What do you do there? Throw him the money or deal him?

This is a tough situation as a fan. For years all this organization has done is trade their better players before free agency. Which sucks. But if you aren't going to be able to afford them anyway then you pretty much have to trade them, right?

2 Years...

C Sanchez
1B free agency or Alvarez??
2B Walker
SS free agency??
3B free agency or Alvarez??
LF Presley
CF McCutchen or Marte
RF Tabata

Bench:
G Hernandez
Paul/Lattimore
Harrison
D'Arnaud
Pearce/Wood
McHenry

Rotation:
Tallion
Cole
Morton
Karstens?
McDonald?
Lincoln?

Bullpen:
Moskos
Watson
Allie
Morris
Dubee
Hanrahan

Maybe McCutchen or Hanrahan trades could fill some of those holes. If they are dealt I would like to see them go after young position players.

s cube

I really do not think Cutch wants to be here long term, or the extension talks they had would not have fizzled out so quickly. And Marte I think will end up as a better big leaguer then Cutch. After his performance tonight, these are Sterling's numbers this year for Altoona .328 with 11 HR, 33 doubles, 7 triples, 47 RBI, 75 runs scored, and 21 steals. He also has a stronger more accurate arm then Cutch, and is faster which makes his defense better. Hanrahan I would love to see them make next on their lock him up long term list, after giving Tabata the 9 year deal yesterday their now working on Walker, and for them to do it this offseason and at least eat up his arbitration years. If they trade away McCutchen I'm pretty confident you could get a teams #1 prospect, as well as 2 other guys from their top 10 and maybe even 1 or 2 big league ready guys in that deal. And I think the time will come that the Pirates make that trade. I believe Andrew McCutchen is gone out of Pittsburgh by opening day 2014. By that time Marte will certainly be in Pittsburgh, Tabata will have 5 years under his belt and still only be 26, and Bell should be knocking on the door.

You are right s3. No matter how much we would like to think otherwise, the Pirates are going to be sellers rather buyers most seasons because they are not going to be able pay to keep too many quality players.

The fans are going to have to accept that the FO needs to sell high and continue to load the minor league system with good prospects to be conpetitive on a yearly basis. The margin of error for the FO is so small they can't afford to make too many mistakes when trading. IMO they missed an opportunity this season by not moving Mahlom before the deadline. He has been inconsistent his entire career, but he was pitching well before the trading deadline and most likely could have been traded for a least one, maybe two, good prospects. Now the team is stuck either paying him 9.5 mil next season or letting him go for little return.

It would be difficult for the FO to drop a long term contract on a closer. Hanrahan is good and it would be nice to have the Hammer available at the end of the game, but the Pirates will need to use their limited resources on position players and starters. Paying a closer big money is a luxury a small payroll team like the Buccos can't afford.

I would be surprised to see Taillon in Pittsburgh by 2013. This FO has not been in the practice of having prospects jump two levels in any season. With Taillon currently at low A, if the FO stays with that philosophy, he is at least three years from pitching at PNC. Any starting pitching rotation discussion for the next few years has to include either Locke or Owens.

Here's my take on the current top prospects within the Pirates organization.

http://floodsportsblog.blogspot.com/

Good stuff Crimson.

The one negative with the list is most of those guys are in low A or below, and as you noted are not projected to arrive on the big league club for three or four more years.

The one guy on the list who looks to be a concern is Allie. Granted the guy has a ridiculous K/I.P ratio, but until the guy learns to throw the ball over the plate (25 walks and 9 HB in 23.1 innings), it is hard to think of him as a top ten prospect.

Two guys to watch who IMO have a chance to advance through the system as fast or faster than Cain and Taillon are Zach Von Rosenburg and Zach Dodson. Von Rosenburg started slow,but his numbers the last five or six starts are exceptional. He doesn't seem to be struggling with the IP total which is a good indicator he may be ready for the next level. Dodson started out well and if not for a broken hand in early May may have had a chance to advance to Bradenton already. Dodson's other advantage is he is a lefty. With Locke moving to AAA, Altoona's roster has zero lefties and Bradenton's roster has only three so there is plenty of need for a lefty to move up.

Will be interesting to see where Cole and Bell start next year. If either start below low A, it will be somewhat of a disappointment.

voncap

Pretty sure that next year Cole starts at High A Bradenton at the lowest, and I see Bell either there or WV. But if it is WV I don't think he'll be there long.