Andrew McCutchen did not attend PiratesFest at PNC Park, but he was very much on the minds of fans who did walk through the main concourse of the one-day event Saturday. The face of the franchise was the subject of several questions that Pirates management — Neal Huntington, Frank Coonelly and Clint Hurdle — faced during the two question-and-answer sessions with fans.
Although no question was exactly alike, they each had the same gist: Is McCutchen going to be in a Pirates uniform in 2018?
Neither Huntington nor Coonelly offered any reassurances.
"Our mindset is we always have to be open-minded," Huntington said of listening to trade offers, this during the morning session that was exclusively for season ticketholders. "We always have to be willing to make the hard decisions because our singular focus is to bring another World Series championship back to this city. In some cases, it’s going to mean we have to make some hard decisions. In some cases, it’s going to mean we’re going to make easy decisions. But the hard ones are going to be real."
McCutchen will make $14.5 million in 2018 as part of his club option, and he will become a free agent next October. Huntington has said repeatedly that the Pirates' best roster in 2018 includes McCutchen in center field, but he's not sure that puts the club in position to win consistently beyond next season.
McCutchen surely has a few suitors across Major League Baseball, particularly now that Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani are no longer available. The Giants and Dodgers both missed out on Stanton. The Cardinals did also, though the Pirates would not trade McCutchen within the division. Prices in free agency are quite high, so McCutchen would offer a team a cheaper alternative with a far shorter commitment.
He was excellent for stretches during 2017. After reaching the Mendoza Line in Atlanta on May 23, he rediscovered his swing. He batted .411/.505/.689 in June with six home runs, 23 RBI and only 12 strikeouts in 90 at-bats to be named National League Player of the Month. He then batted .322 with eight home runs and 19 RBI in July before struggling in August and finishing strong in September and October.
His career renaissance began while working with hitting coach Jeff Branson on the mechanics of his swing, specifically how rotational his upper body had become over the previous year. So, Hurdle sat McCutchen for two games after he reached .200, although he did pinch-hit on May 24. Upon the center fielder’s return to the lineup, he was placed in the No. 6 spot in the order and batted .380 over the next month.
Despite the forgettable start, McCutchen slashed .279/.363/.486 in his ninth season with the Pirates, including 28 home runs — the second-highest total of his career — and 88 RBI. He batted .312 with runners in scoring position and his .313 average from May 14 to the end of the season ranked eighth in the National League.
However, it sure doesn't sound like the Pirates are going to sign him to another long-term extension. Huntington made that clear in his remarks Saturday.
"Andrew McCutchen is a special, special man," Huntington said to a fan during the afternoon session. "He’s a great player. He might be a great player into the middle or late 30s. Absolutely might be. Again, our challenge becomes how do we build a championship team around him? I’m going to ask you to look around the industry and especially in the small markets and how have they been able to build championship teams with one player who is a huge chunk of their payroll? The answer is they haven’t been able to. That’s the challenge we face."
The Pirates are faced with the decision to either "retool" the roster, as Huntington put it, or take one more shot at the postseason with McCutchen on the roster. At the foundation of that decision is whether or not the current core of players is strong enough to make such a run.
Josh Bell was a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year. Gregory Polanco was slowed by injuries in 2017. Starling Marte was suspended for 80 games. Josh Harrison is under contract this season with two more years of club options, although he's quite expensive at $10.25 million. Francisco Cervelli has also struggled with injuries. Jordy Mercer is entering the final year of his contract. Adam Frazier has shown potential, but is unlikely to be a full-time player. There are holes in the bullpen and the club potentially needs another starting pitcher, but the payroll is currently projected to be $102 million on opening day, which would be a franchise record.
On the other hand, Hurdle called the Pirates' starting rotation one of the best he's been around in his time as a player or coach. Oh, and the Pirates have one of the best closers in Major League Baseball. But there are many layers to the decision, including a potential return for McCutchen and payroll, which was a topic of discussion during both question-and-answer sessions.
Rivero and Sean Rodriguez voiced confidence to reporters Saturday that the current roster is strong enough to return to the postseason. However, Hurdle had a different tone when asked if the window of opportunity could be closing on a core — only eight players remain from the 2015 opening day roster — that led the Pirates to three consecutive postseason appearances.
"I think the window for every team is going to close at a different time," Hurdle said. "You’re always looking to churn your roster. ... One of the unfortunate things that happens is if you have some good players and they stay here for a while, eventually they’re going to go because you can’t keep them all."