Pittsburgh Pirates “leaning against” trading OF Andrew McCutchen

It appears likely that Andrew McCutchen, who is having a resurgent year, will finish the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After missing the playoffs for 21 straight years, the Pittsburgh Pirates reached the postseason three straight times between 2013-15. Indisputably, outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who has become the face of the franchise, was a huge factor in the Pirates’ recent run of success.

McCutchen made his MLB debut for the Pirates in 2009 and earned a fourth-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. In 2011, he made his first All-Star team. The next season, McCutchen elevated his game to an elite level.

Between 2012-15, McCutchen batted an incredible .313/.404/.523 (157 OPS+) while averaging 25 home runs per season. He was also named the NL MVP in 2013, the season in which the Pirates finally snapped their long playoff drought. During this impressive four-season run, he never finished lower than fifth in the NL MVP voting. In 2016, however, McCutchen had a down year and batted just .256/.336/.430 (104 OPS+) with 24 home runs.

In the midst of a bounce-back season

Going into 2017, the former All-Star center fielder was bumped to right field by the emergence of Starling Marte, who previously played left field. However, McCutchen would later reclaim center field after Marte’s PED suspension and is now once again looking a lot like his former self, hitting .291/.382/.511 (132 OPS+) with 18 homers and 61 RBI across 97 games.

With the trade deadline right around the corner, many are wondering whether or not the Pirates will move McCutchen, especially now that he appears to have boosted his value once again. According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, however, the Pirates are “leaning against” the idea of trading the 30-year-old.

The Pirates are currently sitting in third place in the NL Central with a record of 50-50. They are only 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. It is not inconceivable that they could battle their way into a playoff spot, so keeping McCutchen would certainly make sense for the Pirates.

Team option for 2018

Biertempfel also points out that it remains unclear if the Pirates will exercise McCutchen’s team option for the 2018 season. However, it seems likely the option will be picked up, given the season that McCutchen is having. Per Baseball-Reference, the option is for $14.75 million with a $1 million buyout. Of course, it is also possible that the Pirates could pick up the option and then trade him over the offseason.

Next: Red Sox lack backbone, character

It has certainly been fun to watch McCutchen return to form this year. Regardless of whether his career continues in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, the five-time All-Star has definitely reminded everyone of what he is capable of and the type of impact player he can be.