Andrew McCutchen’s NL Player Of The Month-winning performance in June ended over a year of frustration at the plate for the longtime Pirates star, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes. The hot streak also reinvigorated trade speculation about McCutchen’s future, and he reiterated to Crasnick that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh. Bucs GM Neal Huntington stated that the team isn’t shopping McCutchen but, thanks to the Pirates’ struggles in the standings and their payroll limitations, all options must be kept open:
“We anticipate Andrew continuing to be a Pirate until something changes — whether it’s through free agency or someone coming in [with an offer] that we believe can help this organization over the big picture,” Huntington said. “That’s the hard reality. We’ll listen on anybody. We have to. It doesn’t mean we’re looking to move him or actively engage. There’s active and passive engagement, and we’ll always be open for passive engagement if somebody wants to come to us.”
Here’s more from around the NL Central…
- Brewers GM David Stearns spoke to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters about his team’s deadline plans, largely reiterating his statement from May about the Brewers’ improved play not throwing off their overall long-term rebuilding strategy. While the club will “certainly explore every avenue” to improve the roster, Stearns implied that the Brew Crew will pursue controllable players over rentals st the trade deadline. “I never want to say never, but if there’s going to be an acquisition cost, it needs to be an acquisition that’s going to be here for more than one year. Players that have multiple years of control are naturally better fits,” Stearns said.
- Pitchers like Jose Quintana and Sonny Gray would fit as upgrades on multi-year contracts, though Stearns downplayed reports of the Brewers’ interest in the two hurlers. “I think this time of year, we along with all 29 other teams, do background work on a number of different players. That’s natural. It’s league-wide and across the board,” Stearns said.
- Talks between the Reds and second overall draft pick Hunter Greene came right down to the wire yesterday, as president of baseball ops Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters. Both sides expressed worry that a deal couldn’t be reached before Friday’s 5pm deadline, and it was apparently a matter of seconds before a final agreement was reached, Williams said. There was pressure in both camps, as Greene faced either a year in limbo or three years away from re-entering the draft if he chose to attend UCLA, while the Reds didn’t want to face the stiff penalties that would’ve been imposed on them for exceeding their draft bonus pool. In the end, Greene signed for a record-setting $7.23MM bonus.
And this one belongs to the Reds.
“We’ll listen on anybody. We have to.”
When you have a bloodsucking owner then this is true.
It’s also true that Cincinnati is the smallest media market in MLB. Joey Votto waves hello from this tiny market as does Homer Bailey.
Jeez this is so over used. If you don’t like the owner don’t follow the team. But ya still do.
That statement you just made..makes no sense!
I agree. Since when are you not allowed to root for a team if you don’t like the owner?
Ha ha I’m a Dallas Cowboys fan if you have to root for owner how many fans would be left?
My point is why would you continue to subject yourself to frustration if your unhappy with what the owner is putting on the field? Would you continue to go to a restaurant if you were paying premium prices for a lower grade of food just so the owner can make money?
I’m tired of the Nutting is cheap whining. Nutting is an owner who purchased the Pirates with his own money. He has a right just like any other owner to make a profit. If you want to put up your money and buy the team then go for it. I’m sure there are a lot of professional teams run poorly and fans complain. If it’s poor management of the roster like the Cowboys that’s one thing. But to complain about an owner wanting to make a profit on his investment that’s his right. Why continue to complain every single time. It’s a broken record of the same ridiculous complaint.
Absolutely agreed!
It’s called commitment. You root for your favorite team despite disliking certain aspects, like the owner
I love it when people cite “he’s the 10th richest owner in MLB”.
Never “the Pirates have some of the lowest ticket and concession prices in MLB, they should raise those prices in order to field a better team.”
Baseball welfare queens, essentially.
They want the Cubs payroll at Altoona Curve prices and if the rich guy doesn’t spend money he makes at other businesses to subsidize it, then he’s “cheap”.
The “Nutting is so cheap” proponents can be so stale and opportunistic that it’s sad. According to them, he’s mainly cheap because… well, because he is, any evidence to the contrary be damned. Your analogy about “Cubs payroll at Altoona Curve prices” is brilliant and on point. Nutting cannot win by winning, or win by losing, in their minds. He’s the villain unless he becomes baseball’s biggest spender, never mind whether or not that would be possible or practical.
Commitment is for marriage. But what do you do when the person you are committed to continues to do something you don’t like? Keep complaining and hope it changes?
The very first thing Mario Lemieux credited for the Penguins Cup win when he was interviewed on the ice in Nashville was the salary cap.
If the Rangers could spend twice as much, the Pens would be in the same (or worse) situation as the Pirates.
The Pirates are behaving rationally given their situation. But, part of their situation is signing a bad cable TV deal years ago. They got peanuts right before rights fees exploded.
If, after they get a new TV deal, they refuse to sign Bell and Taillon and that generation of Pirates to long term deals, then we can say he’s cheap.
“Would you continue to go to a restaurant”
Restaurant’s are not “The National Pastime” Restaurant’s are not built with taxpayer money as MLB ballparks are.
How much money did the owner of the Pirates pay himself last year? What did the owner of the Pirates do to earn the tens of millions of dollars he drained out of the Pirates into his bank account?
So basically, TJECK109 is into the art of being a bandwagon fan. If your team isn’t doing well and isn’t putting a great product on the field, just abandon ship for a team that is. Got it.
Because baseball is played by people, not food. Fans want to cheer for pitchers and hitters, not steaks and salads.
Your point is valid – owners can do whatever they want with the asset. However, owners make money on equity appreciation, not operating profits. That’s been true for the past three decades.
*sorry comment meant for Caseys Partner
***The 2001 Mariners***
Contracts like Homer Bailey’s prevent small market teams from signing free agents, paying their players in arbitration, and extending players. Pittsburgh has 9 players making over $5m, Cincinnati has 4. Pittsburgh has 13 players making over $3.5m, Cincinnati has 5.
Your wrong. Milwaukee and Pittsburgh have smaller media markets than Cincinnati. Kansas City is small as well
Google: Nielsen DMA Rankings – 2017 Television Season
Nielsen sets advertising rates for television markets.
Cincinnati is last, Milwaukee is next to last.
What GM for Brewers said is don’t expect a big trade for a top line pitcher unless we get him very very cheap. So other words Brewer fans can expect just a rental for one of their non prospects.
That is not what Stearns said. He said he would be willing to bring on another arm/player, but ONLY if he was controllable for several more years. Thus, a short term ‘rental’ is not in the teams best interest.
How in the world did you get that he would bring in a rental? He clearly states that he wants an arm that’s controllable for a few years.
He doesn’t want to throw off their long term rebuild. Sounds more like a minor trade but not trading their best prospects.
He’s basically saying if they bring in a big arm its gonna be Quintana or Gray.
Every GM response is the same each time with different words used to make the point.
The GM is never going to show his hand.
Brewers FO needs to be careful, and not blow their prospect load at the deadline. Their farm is really solid, and would hate to see them give a lot of it up, and put their team back in a hole because they are tasting some success this year.
They won’t…..that’s exactly what was just said up above. Stearns knows what he is doing.
Don’t get your hopes up is what the GM is saying. Can’t blame them they are no sure thing for the playoffs.
There is no sure thing in the playoffs. Period. Ask the 2011 Phillies, the 2003 Mariners, the 2012 Nationals, etc, etc. It’s all about what team gets hot.
****2001 Mariners****
It just seems like the Reds were willing to throw all the money in the world at international guys last period, but couldn’t dare slip into the penalty with Greene. It would’ve cost them about $9.6 mil without losing next year’s 1st rounder to give Greene the most money they could.
How about ‘Cutch to the White Sox for Alen Hanson and Wlily Garcia or to the Brewers for Keon Broxton, Rob Scahill, Trey Supak, and Jared Hughes? Nice return.
Not enough from the Sox. Hanson was a recent waiver pickup from the Bucs. Cutch doesn’t fit the Sox rebuild anyway.
Your son blows.
lol the Pirates would fall out of their chair laughing from those offers and hang up
Haha I lol’d
….and no one got the sarcasm…lol
Man, 3 downvotes and several responses that took you seriously. Amazing!
FYI, those are all former Pirates players folks.
Okay, good one!
I wanted to trade Cutch. He was getting older and declining precipitously.
But, if the various reasons speculated on to explain that decline were true, he wouldn’t be able to perform as he is now. So, I buy into the idea that he identified and corrected a swing flaw and can be an elite bat again.
Offer to tear up his option for next year and give him a 4 year $70 million deal.
If he accepts it, great and if he doesn’t, it frees you up to trade him without regret.
I think the Brewers need to pull the trigger on some pitching. There offense looks like it is the real deal. It comes down to you can’t play every prospect and sometimes you have to move some prospects to get an impact player. It’s nice to have one of the best farm systems in baseball but it’s all about winning with your MLB club. The Brewers could make the playoffs this year with some pitching and it’s all about making the playoffs get hot at the right time and you can win the World Series.
Typical forwhomthejoshbelltrolls. Would trade anyone not living up to he’s so called level for pieces of a future that never comes. In one year he’ll rip apart Cole, three years out Josh Bell, Marte, and polanco will be the who cares flavors.