Pirates Open to Extending Andrew McCutchen… Duh!
Pittsburgh Pirates fans can only hope so. Andrew McCutchen is barely 28-years old despite four All-Star game appearances, one MVP and 20-20 seasons in four of his last five years. The fact that the Pirates are willing to extend him should not be revelatory news. The opposite would make for a more newsworthy headline.
McCutchen is locked under club control by the Pirates through the 2018 season. If an extension were not pursued, the team would be liable for any future damages incurred by letting a franchise player get in line at free agency. As it stands now, for the additional four seasons Cutch will be a Pirate, he will be paid no more than $14.75 million per season.
For fun, here are a few other position players set to make in excess of that figure in 2015:
- OF Josh Hamilton – $25.4 M
- 1B Ryan Howard – $25 M
- 1B Mark Teixeira – $23.125 M
- 1B Joe Mauer – $23 M
- OF B.J. Upton (now Melvin Jr.) – $15.05 M
- DH Nick Swisher – $15 M
- SS Jhonny Peralta – $15 M
The above are all undesirable contracts and there is little disputing otherwise. What’s more, over the last three seasons the average combined WAR of the seven above players is 5.6. The money might not be right, but at the time the deals were signed, it was. It’s what the market demanded.
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McCutchen’s average WAR over the last three seasons is 7.1. If Pirates management were to let him walk in the prime of his career before his age 32 season, fans may never be able to forgive the front office. The last things they want is a return to the dastardly days when winning percentages hover around .400 for a season. Where Jay Bell–like numbers became the star attraction and baseball once more turns to irrelevancy in the Steel City.
If the Pirates win a pennant in the next four years, it may quiet the demands by fans to place a winning product on the field. As much has been silenced extensively ever since McCutchen debuted for the Bucs back in 2009. Sure there are other hopeful players within the organization like Starling Marte, Josh Harrison and Gregory Polanco, but McCutchen is the blue-chip bat and the cornerstone of the organization.
Not since the legendary Roberto Clemente played ball for the Pirates have they had as special a player as Andrew McCutchen is suit up for them. Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski‘s career WAR of 36.2 could be surpassed by McCutchen in 2015, whose present number rests at 33. Pirates officials knew enough back then to ensure players like Clemente, Mazeroski and Willie Stargell would end their careers where they began them. The “reserve clause” of course made this a lot easier back then. However, the Pirates would be fools to let one of MLB’s brightest stars play elsewhere during his proverbial prime.