What on earth is happening with Andrew McCutchen



Andrew McCutchen looks like his days are numbered and that he will soon have a new address, but where will that be exactly.

Sidney Crosby, Ben Rothlisburger, Antonio Brown, and Andrew McCutchen. All superstar players who have made their career in the Steel City. However, it looks like one of these stars is moving out very soon. In a surprising turn of events the Pirates are actively pursuing a trade to send McCutchen out of town.

The Pirates hinted at a possible Andrew McCutchen trade in the beginning of their offseason, and now it seems like a forgone conclusion that McCutchen will soon say his goodbyes. According to multiple reports, the Pirates are actively shopping the star centerfielder and will heavily pursue a trade after the winter meetings. It seems that these rumors are true, due to the massive amount of them, and the sources they come form. The question now becomes, Where will McCutchen end up?

In a previous article, I wrote that Seattle and Houston would be ideal fits for McCutchen. It now looks like the Washington Nationals are he front runners to land the 4 time All Star, however the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have also shown interest. The Pirates seem to be interested in discussions with the Nationals over everyone else. Pittsburgh has been actively scouting Nationals prospects in anticipation of negotiations.

If a trade is going to take place, the Pirates will not be taken advantage of. Although McCutchen is starting to age, and had a massively bad year, this is still a franchise cornerstone for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they want to be blown away by the offers they receive. Pittsburgh is looking for young all star prospects, instead of a replacement for the center fielder. The Pirates feel that they already have that in Austin Meadows.
Meadows has developed into an elite center field option and the Pirates feel that’s its time to move on from McCutchen. If Meadows is truly ready, then trading their best player makes the most sense. The pirates are desperate for some pitching and the Nationals are filthy rich when it comes to pitching. Lucas Giolito might be out of the question, as he is one of the best overall prospects in the league, but Reynaldo Lopez, and Erick Fedde are certainly reasonable.

The Pirates shouldn’t trade McCutchen. He is the face of the franchise and a fan favorite. However, it looks like they have to now. If they don’t now they risk his value going down or him waking in free agency. The Pirates may be able to entice Washington to give up its top prospect, or another team may come out of nowhere, but one thing is for certain. Its only going to get more interesting from here.

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