Pirates general manager Neal Huntington put both right fielder Andrew McCutchen and infielder Josh Harrison on the block earlier this offseason, though he wasn’t able to find a palatable deal for either. With spring training approaching, Huntington remains willing to trade either player, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
After he couldn’t secure a taker for McCutchen at the Winter Meetings in December, Huntington declared that the five-time All-Star would likely continue in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have since decided to shift the longtime center fielder to right, where he’ll attempt to bounce back from a highly disappointing 2016 in which his production declined in the field, at the plate and on the base paths. McCutchen was his typical durable self, having eclipsed the 150-game plateau for the sixth time in seven full seasons, but he logged a career-low fWAR (0.7) across 675 plate appearances. That mostly came on account of mixing a slightly above-average batting line (.256/.336/.430) with a major league-worst minus-28 Defensive Runs Saved.
Despite his stunning drop-off last season, McCutchen still comes with a relatively appealing contract. The 2013 NL MVP has two years and $28.5MM left on his deal, including a $14.5MM club option for 2018. However, the 30-year-old has highly rated outfield prospect Austin Meadows pushing for a spot behind him in Pittsburgh. Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com all regard the 21-year-old Meadows as one of the game’s 10 best prospects, and it stands to reason he’s not going to knock either of McCutchen’s fellow starting outfielders, Starling Marte or Gregory Polanco, out of the organization. Marte and Polanco, after all, are younger than McCutchen and under team control at eminently affordable prices through 2021 and 2023, respectively.
Harrison, meanwhile, is controllable for up to four more seasons – including two club options – at a maximum of $39.5MM. Like McCutchen, Harrison endured a rough 2016; unlike McCutchen, though, Harrison doesn’t carry a star-caliber track record, which has surely made it that much more difficult for Huntington to find a quality return for him. Since he earned his lone All-Star nod in 2014 and then inked an extension the next spring, Harrison has slashed a mediocre .285/.318/.389 over 971 trips to the plate. Harrison, to his credit, put up a career-high 19 steals and registered a plus DRS (eight) in 1,077 innings at second base in 2016. Nevertheless, thanks largely to a subpar .283/.311/.388 batting line in 522 PAs, he accounted for a below-average 1.5 fWAR.
Huntington tried in November to jettison Harrison in order to re-sign then-free agent Sean Rodriguez, and failing to do so led Rodriguez to join the Braves. Now, barring a late-winter deal, the 30-year-old Harrison will start 2017 at the keystone in Pittsburgh. It seems an ideal scenario for the club would include dealing him and opening up an everyday job for utilityman Adam Frazier. The 25-year-old impressed as a rookie last season, as he hit .301/.356/.411 in 160 PAs and totaled double-digit appearances at second, left field and right field, and Huntington took notice.
“We believe [Frazier] will evolve into a very versatile defensive player who can swing the bat,” Huntington told Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month. “We also see a role in which he progresses into a regular, where he takes a position, grabs hold and never let’s go. It’s just we have somebody in front of him right now in some places. His opportunity is going to be to bounce around the field and do what he does well.”
Elsewhere on Pittsburgh’s roster, if Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb makes the team, it could could lead Huntington to trade either Tony Watson or Antonio Bastardo, writes Biertempfel. Webb, Watson, Bastardo and Felipe Rivero would give the Pirates four left-handed relievers. While both Watson and Bastardo have come up in trade rumors this offseason, the former would clearly warrant a greater return. Watson last year wasn’t as effective as he had been from 2013-15, as his 4.37 FIP paled in comparison to the combined 2.92 figure he recorded over the previous three years. On the plus side, the former setup man and current closer did exceed the 65-inning mark for the fourth straight season and post a 3.06 ERA. He’s also set to rake in an a reasonable salary in the $6MM neighborhood in 2017, which is his final season of team control. Bastardo is entering a contract year, too, but the Pirates’ reported willingness to eat some of the $6.5MM he’s owed hasn’t paved the way for a trade.
Maybe the Astros would consider him.. Put him in LF where his defense would improve due to the shallow LF wall. And LF is open to competition.. heck throw Nori Aoki and Jake into the trade..
I could see that.
There is about zero chance of that trade happening. I’ve always thought that McCutchen was overrated, but even Pittsburgh would laugh at including Aoki and/Or Marisnick in any trade. They don’t need either of those guys in return (see Austin Meadows), and someone will be foolish enough to give up a top prospect for him.
On the flip side, the Astros don’t need him either. His bat at one time was pretty good, never elite, and he’s been in decline and nothing suggests he will improve any. Mix that with a rapidly declining defensive ability and you have zero need for him, other than a name. I, for one, would much rather run P Tucker or Fisher out there to see what they can do full time.
Now if Pittsburgh is willing to sell low, make a deal. However there is no reason for them to when someone with a deep prospect pool and a need for a guy in LF will take a chance and give up a top prospect for him.
Are you kidding me. What wasn’t elite about his 2012-2014 years. Even 2015 he posted a 130 ops plus
He was a very good player in those years, but he’s never been elite. He was a very toolsy player who was good across the board, but never great. Never has had 100 RBIs, never 40 2Bs, and only once has he topped 25 HRs (31 in 2012). He consistently stole over 20 bases a year, but he gets caught stealing at a high clip too. He doesn’t walk at a high clip (never over 100 in a year) but strikes out over 100 times per year easily. He was good for a few years at getting on base and had pretty good pop, but all in all, he was never elite.
This will probably really make your skin crawl, but there was no way at all he deserved that MVP over Goldschmidt in 2013 either.
Nice arbitrary guidelines on those numbers… “Only topped 25 homers once.” Let’s not act like that season came out of nowhere. The seasons you’re neglecting he had 25, 24, 23, 23, and 21.
He put up a freaking 166 OPS+ in 2014, and he was nearly there the previous 2 years as well. He ABSOLUTELY was elite.
Could you please name the elite NL players from 2011 through the 2014 season?
I’m sorry, but that’s really silly
Of CFers in the 2010s, this is the ranking
47.7 WAR, 168 wRC+ – Trout
37.5 WAR, 141 wRC+ – McCutchen
23.9 WAR, 112 wRC+ – Adam Jones
23.8 wAR, 120 wRC+ – Granderson
23.4 WAR, 106 wRC+ – Gardner
23.0 WAR, 107 wRC+ – Ellsbury
…so, uhm, well how is that not “elite” – over that time he was ~14 WAR better than any other CF in the game (well, those not named Trout at least)
Shoot, don’t even have to do it with only CFers either – he has the 5th highest wRC+ of all outfielders since 2010 (Trout, Bautista, Bryant, Stanton then McCutchen followed by Braun, Harper and Holliday) and because he did that with fair Def at the hardest to play position, he is 2nd of all qualified OFer in WAR (Bautista is 3rd at 33.8)
Elite is almost an understatement, to be honest – “Premier” might be more fitting as only other-worldly Trout has been better the last 6 seasons
The guy is getting worse and isn’t going to get any better.. the pirates want WAY too much for him.
why would the pirates want Aoki? trading McCutcheon would mean they want to get younger. they’d be asking for Houston top prospects and might consider Marisnick.
aoki is a place filler who can hit for high avg, marisnick is ELITE defensively. And they could get one or two of the Astros’ lower prospects McCutchin doesn’t exactly have all star value right now..
Why would you trade “elite” defense and a guy who hits for high average, for someone who last year rated dead last on defense and his offensive numbers were just meh?? Doesn’t make sense unless you are proposing to simply trade for a name and for past success.
because upside and a mixture of tools. Cutch is a true 5 tool guy when healthy and productive, the other two guys are useful bench pieces. Cutch would require atleast one top prospect (I would think one of Musgrove/Paulino/McCullers, etc)
I don’t think highly of Marisnick or Aoki, and I could care less if either makes the 25 man roster. I also think McCutchen’s best days are behind him, and he’s certainly not a 5 tool guy anymore.
I would safely assume there is zero chance that they would trade McCullers for McCutchen (or nearly anyone). They wouldn’t trade Musgrove for Quintana, so they certainly wouldn’t trade him for McCutchen. Paulino, I would do that trade straight up. I don’t see him ever being more than a 7th inning guy at best.
Cutch was a 5 tool guy – FTFY
Cutch never had the arm to be a true 5 tool player but his four other tools always made up for that. Going forward he doesnt have the ability to steal bases because he has always been slow out of the gate on his jumps which is why he got caught often even when he had great straight line speed, which is declining rapidly. All that said, no way Huntington trades him for less than a top 40 and another top 100 prospect plus a throw in lottery ticket. Meadows isnt coming up til mid summer anyway so no need to deal Cutch now, Huntington can hold out, hope he rakes until the all star break and deal him closer to the deadline.
JimmyZ is 100 percent correct: Cutch has NEVER had an arm. His speed has never included great acceleration but a high top speed, good out of the box and high gap flies in the outfield but not for stealing or low liners. Contact level has almost always been elite; power has been consistently good, almost great. On defense, his routes are not consistent straight lines, and he’s driven me nuts for six years or so now with his imbecilic showboat slide that’s NEVER necessary and often costs outs, pitches, runs, and games.
I also hope for 3.5 great months–regaining All-Star status–and then trading him to the highest bidder because Meadows will be better probably every season going forward. I just hope other GMs don’t recognize that would be a half-season last hurrah with steady decline to follow, as well as how cancerous his fragile, bloated ego is.
You are crazy stupid to think his numbers where declining “rapidly”. Outside of last year, his other seasons have been pretty good. He anchors that line up when healthy. He would do the same on whatever team he is on. This guy is far from being on a “rapid” decline.
Omg. Anyone who labels cutch as a cancerous fragile bloated ego knows nothing about the Pirates. NOTHING.
Big Poison was Hall of Fame Bucco outfielder Paul Waner, who played mainly in the 1930s at Forbes Field and amassed more than 3,000 hits.
Sincerely,
The guy who knows nothing, NOTHING, about the Pirates
Aoki can hit for a high avg lol. Wait I have to catch my breath. You do know Seattle sent him to AAA last year because he was so bad at the plate. I know many of you Astro Fans think you have an All Star in Aoki but you will be very frustrated very fast with him. Take it from an M’s fan that was excited to sign him and really glad to see him leave.
.280+ IS a high average.. The Astros sent Evan Gattis back to AAA last year too. that doesn’t mean he’s bad.. You don’t seem to realize the bottom if the Astros lineup in 2016 was hitting ~.210 last year. anything above .250 is a vast improvement
Aoki hasn’t much trade value esp since the Mariners decided to cut him loose rather than pay him 5MM
Austin Meadows hit .214 in AAA last season. I think he still has some work to do before he’s ready to face major league pitching. He’s not ready to replace McCutchen yet.
I see mccutchen dealt at the deadline if they aren’t in the race
Meadows also had 126 at bats in AAA last year including an 0-17, IIRC, weekend as a visitor in Gwinnett, Georgia where he went to high school with about a hundred friends and family in the stands that he admitted to trying to hit a home run on every pitch. Take that weekend out of the equation and he hit above .300 in AAA after being called up from AA in the midst of the Altoona Curve’s franchise record hit streak with equal if not more extra base hits than singles last year.
man the pirates don’t deserve him
Very true–they deserve much better than his poor decisions and egotistically cancerous personality.
Sounds like you hate McCutchen. His ego is your problem with him? Damn, I hate what you think of Polanco or Kang egos. What a joke?
Everyone should have a problem with McCutchen’s ego. He called for a scorekeeper to be fired when he justifiably gave Cutch an error. He has stubbornly persisted until this off-season to change his position, and before last season, it was his spot in the order–which he blamed for HIS failure to hit, despite above-average to strong offensive showings from whoever was before and after him, whether it was Harrison, Mercer, Polanco, Marte or Kang. He FINALLY let Hurdle bench him in the Atlanta series, after which he performed considerably better, but he bemoaned the move beforehand and then claimed afterward he’d be on track to .300 if they hadn’t benched him–“nothing to do with (sitting out).” Instead of making an everyday running or shoestring catch, he insists on showboating with his wholly unnecessary slides in the outfield so he can make ‘Web Gems,’ yet the slides frequently cause him to fail to make the catch or even miss the ball completely, costing his team outs, runs and sometimes games, as well as his pitchers’ arms with more pitches.
This is not new to 2016. It’s been building all along and only became unacceptable to most when Cutch became almost average at the plate and bad to record-setting awful elsewhere. The tolerance of this prima donna who thinks himself Baseball Jesus and the yinzers jumping to his defense when their TEAM would be better without him is the joke.
Kang’s made me consider changing my name, for sure. I just don’t spend enough time on this site to consider it–but I guess you got me there! His off-field behavior, atrocious though it’s been, hasn’t seeped into any clubhouse negativity, although it did briefly affect his performance and cause a distraction. He’s definitely dropped far from being my favorite player as he was in 2015.
For Polanco, I don’t understand what the problem is. He’s improved year-by-year and doesn’t appear to me to slack at all. Sure, he makes mistakes, but I’ve never heard him blame others for what are undeniably his failures.
Nothing you’ve said is truth. All complete bullshit.
Actually, McCucthen did say the score keeper should be fired. I don’t know about the rest of that stuff but you just sound like a blind homer.
You need to do some research Big Poison. Everything he said is true.
McCutchen ego or supposedly “rapid” decline is bullshit. This guy gives so much off the field than most athletes do in their career. This guy has been a role model to younger generation. You guys are to critical of one bad season and that error debate. This gentleman is bigger than you believe. He is one of the hardest working players on the Pirates roster. For that last decade (even in the minors), this guy only got better. His career is far from over and believe a lot of his issues was a change in life style. He cleaned up and got married. He may have been distracted last year. His head was NOT in the game and I took my daughter to the game last year. It was Kuhl first start of the season. I sat close enough to watch McCutchen and his position. This guy looked like he was watching butterflies. His mind was not in the game last year and believe he is working through the mental aspect of the game. Watch some of the tapes of these games he played in. He wasn’t McCutch at all.
KHP… dude, you have some issues…
“were gonna trade you, wait no….yes were gonna trade you…wait no, move to right field..Hey were gonna trade you”….if I’m cutch, I’d welcome a trade. get rid of harrison too….one year wonder…
Dodgers should trade for this guy.
The Dodgers are much better off trading for Braun no way they consider this.
I’d rather the Astros trade for Braun over him too.
Yeah the dodgers aren’t taking on Braun’s contract so they aren’t considering Braun.
I could see that, or even the Mariners.
I would like Braun as well but I see them making a move for McCuthen over Braun. Maybe I’m wrong. If the Dodgers don’t end up with either of these guys I can see the Mariners going after Braun and the Astros going after McCuthen.
The only way I think a deal would’ve made the most sense was if the Dodgers got Harrison and Cutch…now that we’ve got Forsythe, Utley and two dozen outfielders it doesn’t seem to make as much sense
Damn, the Pirates have lost all sorts of confidence for Cutch. Seems like they feel they have completely ruined it and are looking to just rid themselves with the internal problem.
Please tell me where they should have confidence after a record-setting drop-off at the plate, a historically awful performance in the outfield, and a consistent egotistically cancerous series of pout sessions where nothing was his fault, always throwing someone under the bus?
Yeah, I’d want rid of that problem, too.
You forgot that this forum is all speculation. Some of it is false information. If McCutchen does get traded, I will be disappointed because he is one of the key players that turned around that organization. But it is business and if they feel that Meadows is really ready or find a temporary replacement until Meadows is ready, I can see a trade. I thought the Mets would be an interesting option since they were looking to trade 2 players, Bruce and another. I thought a Bruce trade with McCutchen and a few prospects (maybe little less prospects than requested for McCutchen). Bruce is a decent option in RF and gone after the season. If Meadows proves ready, Bruce can move to bench and play RF/1B when needed.
Not a bad idea, just very hard to move a lot of parts with a lot of bulk in name and contract value for guys past their best years. If the Mets would sweeten the pot–which they wisely wouldn’t, because Cutch was historically awful on defense, which is their main concern–then I could’ve seen that deal.
Too often some fans forget the names on the backs of the jerseys are only temporarily important. The name on the front of the jerseys is what should be the primary concern and seeing the greatest success there.
The Giants could surely use McCutchen, but they don’t seem to want to add much more to their payroll. Other than that, I don’t see any teams who are in desperate need of another outfielder. Sure, there are teams that could probably use an upgrade at a spot in their outfield, but they aren’t likely to give up a package to acquire McCutchen. Of course, an injury can change all that. Right now, I just don’t see a team aggressively pursuing McCutchen
It’s likely a deal occurs at the trade deadline. Pirates very likely will be far enough behind the Cubs and Cards that they can justify selling him in July. They are going all-in on making the next 3.5 months McCutchen’s best for the remainder of his career.
I definitely agree barring significant injuries to the Cubs the Pirates or anyone won’t likely catch the Cubs. But I don’t think this Pirates team is significantly worse than the Cards/the potential 2nd WC team to be far enough behind them at the deadline to justify dealing Cutch unless they are getting serious MLB talent back.
I guess that depends how Meadows does in AAA. If he’s putting up Polanco-type numbers and staying healthy to meet Huntington’s PA threshold, I’d plug him into the MLB roster in July after trading Cutch. That assumes, of course, Cutch has been playing well enough to merit a decent return and Meadows has been solid.
How are you basing the Pirates falling behind Cards? You are really stretching here on the rankings. Cubs will probably hold the division (which is 99.9%) and beyond that, it is up in the air. The central division has weakened a bit and anyone can bounce back. I am not counting out the Reds or even the Pirates. Both are going into the season as “underrated”. Pirates I believe can be the sleeper team this year. That rotation has the league skeptical on their record and ranking.
Cole had a bad year, but being a Boras product, you can bet that this season is a start to “greater stats”. The guy will be controlled until 2019 (I think). If he wants that big contract, he is going to need to make adjustments and I am sure he will.
Tallion, rookie last year and hasn’t played a full year in 2 years before last season. I understand people being cautious about him. If the Pirates treat Tallion like they did with Cole in his first season, Tallion will be “better than expected”.
Nova, what can I say about him? Can he actually be JA Happ winner? Can he finally prove he is worthy of that contract? Answer is yes to all of it. He doesn’t have to carry the rotation on his shoulders. He is in a good position to be very successful.
Chad Kuhl, maybe not a strike out pitcher, but he is a Tom Glavine type of pitcher. He will force you to hit tough pitches and will “grind out” outs. He will draw ground ball rates that will be above average amongst the league.
5th spot is up for grabs and I think anyone but Glasnow takes it. If Glasnow proves he can pitch again in AAA, he could be a mid season call up. Either way, 4 guys in front makes this spot overrated. If the 4 guys a head of this spot pitches well, 5th spot only needs to win 10 games.
Offense, it sucks Kang will be out for half the season to the full season. This is where I thought Jay Bruce would be a good option if McCutchen was traded. Otherwise, offense looks to be around the Cards offense. And that isn’t saying much. Pitching for Pirates will put the Bucs ahead of the Cards
I had typed a long thoughtful response but lost it. The gist is the Bucs have a better bullpen, but the Cards have a stacked rotation with certainty. The Pirates have question marks for all five slots in terms of performance. Cole has been inconsistent even when healthy; Taillon should be fine but faces sophomore scouting syndrome; Nova should be better than his Yanks track record but nowhere near the unsustainable small sample he had with Pittsburgh in 2016; and nobody is sure what the other two will even be. So Cards to me will be better.
Cards just lost their stud SP to TJ surgery…
Advantage Pgh.
Matt Cain for Cutch straight up-Pitt likes reclamation projects on the mound and Giants could use a durable LF that wants to play in the clutch.
Reclamation projects and damaged goods are quite different. I like the outside-the-box thinking. I just don’t see that as anywhere close to fair value for Cutch.
Had a couple of good years. Old now.
You’ve met my wife??
Hayooo!!!
No way they move him before the season. If anything, they deal him at the Trade Deadline or close to it.
I would say Cutch will be moved at the trade deadline at the earliest. Teams are hoping for superstar in Cutch, but are not sure and therefore won’t offer much in trades. However the Pirates are asking the cost for prime Mccutch. If Cutch comes back to form he’ll have more incentive, and the price difference from now will be marginal compared to the gap that is occuring now.
I bet he tears it up this season. Someone who’s that good has got to have alot of pride, he’s going to be out there to make a statement. I bet even Trout will have at least one down year eventually… Maybe…
dump the nine million for the hideous catcher bad contract first. Then dump your other bad contract named Josh Harrison second….keep cutch…..this freaking GM is a joke dude
What he trades the best catcher in AAA to get salary dump on a pitcher then turns around and traded for mediocre catcher making 3.5 million for one HR and 33 RBI and makes it better by giving the 31 year old catcher a 6 million dollar raise with three year deal and costing another 22 million two years after that ….lol….this guy is why the Pirates will never see the World Series again.
You know teams love it when this loser calls and shows up on caller ID
You clearly have no clue.
1. Reese McGuire has NEVER played above AA.
2. McGuire’s stock has fallen steadily, out of the top 100; most scouts regard him as a great defensive catcher who will never hit.
3. McGuire has NEVER been the top catching prospect–closest was third.
4. They traded for Cervelli roughly one-and-a-half years before trading McGuire.
5. Cervelli has consistently been significantly above-average at the plate for a catcher, just nagged by injuries.
6. Cervelli has rated among the top–if not the top–pitch-framers as a Pirate and the pitchers rave about him.
7. Homers are nice but not everything; RBIs mean absolutely nothing without context.
8. If the Bucs never see the World Series again, it’s because the MLB system substantially favors large markets and punishes small markets.
9. Huntington has some bad deals, but he’s fleeced several GMs, as well, and took this team from bare-cupboard rock bottom to consistent playoff threat.
Awesome post Polanco. Well said.
Thanks, batman!
And you have to love this at end of the story:
“Bastardo is entering a contract year, too, but the Pirates’ reported willingness to eat some of the $6.5MM he’s owed hasn’t paved the way for a trade”.
Another bad trade and 7 million dollar player taken on from another bad trade for a starting pitcher that is so bad he’s not even signed for 17 with anyone….lol
For a small market team there’s many mediocre millionaires created by him.
You do realize the Pirates aren’t paying all of the 6+ mil to Bastardo, right?
No, he just wants to spout negativity at the Pirates, regardless of whether it makes sense.
jgiun1@yahoo.com may be the worst commenter in the history of this page. And Pittsburgh is filled with fans like him. It’s so hard being a Pirates fan these days
It’s always been hard. I just assumed it would be easier once the winning tide finally turned. But I hadn’t considered how the yinzers would be the ones flocking back in droves with mass stupidity. (sigh)
I like you
Hey Kang Ho Polanco, this message is for you:
Your odd ranting mixed in with sometimes half coherent thoughts is confusing. Your anger towards cutch borders on psychotic. Yes he played terrible last year. No doubt. But then you start bashing his character and you lose all credibility with anyone who knows Pirates baseball because the man is the highest quality professional athlete around today. Top notch role model. Top notch human being.
You can come on boards like this and people will think you know what your talking about, but take those asinine comments onto a Pirates blog and see how quick you are lambasted. And not because of “yinzers” either. Because your comments are pure garbage with no truth in them at all.
You can prance around in your Pirates Fan costume all you like, but real Pirates Fans know you’re spewing feces.
I’m guessing you aren’t a Pirates fan, because everything he said about Cutch is spot on. His attitude in 2016 was completely different than we’ve seen before. All of thr things he said about Cutch actually happened, but you keep living in your fantasy world where you think Cutch is pure.
He really got under your skin to get his own rant. From an outsiders perspective he’s making a lot of sense and kinda won me over. You say it’s all bs right? Let me ask you something. Is the story that he gave about trying to get scoreboard operator fired true? That to me is a serious ego issue if true?
cbssports.com/mlb/news/mccutchen-says-official-sco…
Lol he clearly said they should be fired. Now with context it looks like an emotional reaction but it’s very much true.
Paul Waner, as someone who is on Pirates chat groups nearly every day, I assure you I am far, far from alone in my disdain toward Cutch and find many who concur with my assessments. I have the utmost respect for him outside baseball, definitely top-notch there, and I have never thought differently in that sense.
But none of what I have said is BS. Much of it is factual; some is opinion based on those facts. Calling me psychotic based on my frustrations with a professional athlete shows a considerable disconnect from what matters in life. And that detracts from your credibility, because you’ve done nothing to discredit me, whereas a simple Google search can show as facts Cutch demanding a scorekeeper be fired for giving him an error, his begrudging tolerance to change batting spot and position, years of stupid slides in the outfield, implying Hurdle benching him cost him a turnaround late in his bad year as opposed to evidence it helped, etc.
You’re welcome to disagree with my opinions, although I think you’d agree (as I stated here already) I hope Cutch has a comeback year of All-Star play. You’re welcome to like what you see from Cutch and want a lifetime contract for him.
But you’re not entitled to dispute the facts I’ve presented, and I certainly do not welcome you discrediting my fanaticism. I’ve suffered through all 20 straight losing seasons: Leyland, Lamont, McClendon, Tracy, Russell, and Hurdle; Simmons, Bonifay, and Littlefield; Pat Meares, Raul Mondesi, Derek Bell, and Matt Morris. I’ve more than earned my claim as a die-hard lifelong Bucco fan.
Lol, Blue Jays were asking for McCutchen but Pittsburgh wanted VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR IN RETURN, YOUR NOT GETTING HIM HIS DAD IS A LEGEND AND HE HAD AN AMAZING SEASON AT 17 YEARS OF AGE, HE IS ONE OF OUR BEST PROSPECTS, we were ready to give you Anthony Alford, he was in the mlb top 100 prospects list, he has great speed, .280 batting average, .360 OBP, and 15 homeruns with 20 Stolen Bases with great outfield defense at major league level, these were his projections in major league, but the PIRATES SAID NO, LOL THEY SCREWED UP
Are you 12?
No, he’s probally 7 and found that his dad left this open on his computer.
McCutchen is a talented, intelligent ballplayer who had 1 bad year (see BHarper). He is 30. He is an elite talent. Love the player, fun to watch. He will evolve as a player and still be great for another 5 years. I do believe he will have a HUGE season. The Bucs putting him “out there” on the market at the winter meetings was a wise and shrewd move. It was no disrespect to Cutch. It was simply establishing a price. I cannot tell you whether I’d like to see him traded or not until I see the deal. And that is likely, exactly NH’s thoughts. For the right deal, we win. If not, we keep him and win. I hope and believe Cutch does well whether with the Bucs or not. Look….the Bucs don’t have the luxuries that the NYY, Dodgers, BSox or other major market teams do. The field is slanted towards these markets. The Pirates MUST be creative and they have. The Bucs have had to take unorthodox approaches, and that will result in some very good moves, and some visibly poor ones. MLB needs to stop pandering to the major markets. The Bucs aren’t sitting at the table with same stack as some teams. The world is full of folks who will tell you what you did wrong; but very few of those people can put together an intelligent sentence to provide good alternatives…without hindsight. I am a NH fan. Nutting, not so much.
I agree with you sir….I really do
OK then, besides McCutchen name one good trade the pirates made. They got Marlon Byrd at the right time and I give him credit for that one. Also name one good extension or resign of a player besides Cutch which I rate as a good one.
Let’s see, the Marte and Polanco extensions.
Also, the Cervelli extension. Not sure you hate the guy so much..but the Pirates were smart to lock him up when they did as there were no better replacements on the free agent market, McGuires stock had fallen off completely, and Elias Diaz can’t stay healthy.
As for trades, the AJ Burnett deal was genius. He arguably had more impact on the Pirates return to success than any other player.
It’s obvious you don’t know much about the game so do us all a favor and be quiet.
First of all, McCutchen was drafted, not traded…but
Trades: Cervelli for Justin Wilson, Melancon for Hanrahan and Brock Holt, then turning half a season left of Melancon into Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn, even last week getting Gosselin for Frank Duncan though a minor move should provide a useful utility player/bench bat for a guy who wouldnt have a spot in the majors with the Bucs.
Extensions: Marte and Polanco
Gosselin won’t even make the team. He has options left, and Hanson does not, so Hanson will be on the opening day roster. Gosselin does not play SS, and that is a thin position on the bench.
It is very likely Gosselin wont start the season in Pittsburgh but its equally as likely that he gets the first call up when any position player besides a catcher gets injured. On the other hand it would take 4-6 pitching injuries for Duncan to get the call to Pittsburgh. I like Duncan and think he can carve out a ground ball reliever specialist role or back of rotation starter on a weak staff for several years in the bigs but theres simply too many people ahead of him on the totem pole in PGH. It is concerning how thin they are at SS, stay healthy Jordy.
Melancon
Sean Rodriguez
J.A. Happ
Ivan Nova
A.J. Burnett
Locke, Morton, Hernandez for McLouth
Cervelli (your critique of him is way off mark. phenomenal pick-up.)
Freese FA signing for pennies
resign/extensions?
Marte
Polanco
Burnett
more……?
Are you a Penguin fan? It seems you get your talking points for 105.9. There is more to baseball than homeruns. Catcher is the worst position league wide in terms of offense.
The city of Pittsburgh has an obsession with trades. It’s almost like a mental illness. One of the main reasons I don’t listen to any sports talk in this city. Two years ago everyone wanted Crosby to be traded then it was Malkin.
If people like you got your way we would have gotten so many awful players in trades. People like you that are experts just had to have Morneau from the Twin. You wanted us to trade for Stanton and give up Cole and Marte.
The Os that could use the affordable upgrade they don’t have what it takes to get him. They only have one 100 prospect and he is the catcher of the future then it drops to right around #100 where they have a pitching prospect in Corey Sedlock but I don’t know if it’s enough for Hunnington. It might be enough at this point in off season but now may be to much for Os since they have since acquired Seth Smith and re signed Trumbo.
I meant to say marlon Byrd not cutch in forst sentence… Sorry,typo
no matter…. you & your silly opinion of Pgh’s trades/extensions got crushed all the same…
All I’m trying to say there is no way the Pirates will compete with just a top five minor league prospect list. If this guy would stop giving out bad contracts to bad players maybe just maybe we could have funds to get a major pitcher or batter for the same money you paying these duds. He had so many bad millions on mediocre players contracts and hard to say in a forum and defend he doesn’t.
It just seems like we are going to another five year plan soon.
You want NH to stop giving out bad contracts to bad players, yet you want to keep 30 yr old, declining Cutch with his poor attitude. So glad you’re not in charge of anything.
OK then sign a one homer declining catcher to ten million a year. For 14 million even declining isn’t bad.
The thing is that mediocre, league average starting pitchers make 6-7 million these days. Charlie Morton just got 14 million for two years this offseason despite the only things he’s ever proven is that he can’t stay healthy for a whole year or avoid big innings if his sinker is off. Its not like Huntington is throwing tons of money at people either considering Liriano’s 39 million deal is the largest free agent deal in team history or roughly 1/10th of what Machado and Harper are hoping to get in the near future. Plus, the boatloads of surplus value on the Cutch, Marte and Polanco extensions is a great sign of a good GM and provides hope that early extensions to key players will continue with the next wave of prospects making it to the majors.
That is my whole point….you let players walk that actually might produce and resign the bad ones
jguin – you are truly as sharp as a bowling ball.
do you even realize how badly pwnd you’ve gotten here?
McCutchen has been a great player for this organization when they needed him the most. By far the key to ending the 20 year torture after the Bream slide. As sad as it would be you have to look at the long term health of the team, and getting something for him now, before it’s too late is probably necessary.
Though I don’t think he’s a cancer like some here, I must admit he has been getting kinda whiny last couple years. I have to agree to what some of “Kung ho’s” comments. I don’t hate him as much as he does but I have noticed a change in Cutch even to the point of passively aggressive bitching about how far the fences are in left.
Would be sad to see him go, but the front of the jersey is more important than the back if you’re NH
Good words man….true fan!!!!!
I don’t hate Cutch. I just expect a lot more than what I’ve seen and heard from him in 2016. I appreciate the phenomenal years he had and want him to do well. He’s a good guy off the field. I am also calling it as it is, not allowing several terrific years to cloud the most recent past and future value. But I want nothing more than for him to hit .320/.450/.800 April to July.
How about trading him to my Texas Rangers for a closer in Sam Dyson a player like Ryan Rua who can play both corner OF spots and can also play 1B. And maybe like a SP like Chi Chi Gonzalez and another lower level prospect with some upside
Dont think the pirates would want that package or that the rangers would want to trade dyson with dierkman’s injury (probably butchered his name). I think Texas would be a great place for Cutch but doubt the Rangers put together a package that the Pirates like enough to make it happen.
no one is immune to a trade in pittsburgh, unless your name Crosby. if you’re a pirates fan, the key is to enjoy them while they are in a bucs uniform. we’ve seen them come and go over the years so this is nothing new. just do it and get it over with. I have no problem trading andrew, it’s what they would get in return…..if he starts of slow like last year well they’re not going to get a big return. if he’s not hitting .300 or better, it’s too late to get a big return…just my thoughts…
Thank you for recognizing trades are of necessity in small MLB markets.
The new .300 is around .275, maybe .280. If he hits .270 and keeps his slugging up while reverting to his usually good walk rate, there will be a good market for him, no question.