Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen Deal Step in Right Direction
By Matt Shetler
Now the jokes about not spending money can stop.
Next let’s please end the jokes about that they will just trade away their good players to the Yankees.
For teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, it’s not about how much money you spend, but how wisely you spend the money that you do spend.
It doesn’t get any smarter than the six-year, $51.5 million contract extension they gave to center-fielder Andrew McCutchen on Tuesday.
McCutchen’s deal is similar to the one’s Cincinnati gave Jay Bruce and Arizona gave Justin Upton after their first two full years in the majors.
Cutch has long been viewed as the linchpin of the rebuilding process in Pittsburgh and his deal means the Bucs have two-thirds of their future outfield locked up for the future, after Jose Tabata signed an extension last summer.
Ultimately give both McCutchen and Pirates general manager Neal Huntington credit for making sure this deal happens
"“Andrew McCutchen is one of the best young players in the game and we are very pleased to make this type of commitment to a great player and a great person,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “It has been our intent for Andrew to be a cornerstone for this organization and this contract solidifies that intent for at least the next seven years.”"
A couple of years from now, McCutchen’s extension, which makes him the second highest paid player in Pirates history behind Jason Kendall’s $60 million deal in 2000.
He’s a package of power and speed and only getting better.
Other than perhaps his arm, McCutchen doesn’t have any weaknesses – he hits for average and power, he’s a good baserunner, and his defense has markedly improved this year.
I can throw stats out all day to show the value of Cutch, but nothing speaks like his WAR (Wins Above Replacement, which combines a player’s offensive and defensive contributions). At the All-Star break last season, Cutch ranked him third in baseball. As the Pirates slumped after the break, that number came down a bit, but his 4.8 offensive WAR ranked McCutchen tenth among all position players and his 5.5 overall WAR placed him in a tie for 11th in the National League.
That’s pretty good company for McCutchen to be in and he’s just getting better.
First of all the deal gives fans hope.
Cutch is the best thing to happen to the Pirates in almost two decades. Now he’s in town through his prime.
Next it shows that the benefit of the rebuild could someday pay off.
It shows that their plan may work. First of all they haven’t been bombing out in the draft after Dave Littlefield’s pick of Daniel Moskos No. 4 overall in 2007. Huntington instead has done very well in the draft and now four of the Top 100 prospects in the game are Pirates; including pitchers Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon.
Then there was the plan to stockpile talent and throw a little bit of money slowly at the payroll. Check. They’ve done that as well as the Bucs have real talent and real prospects making their way to Pittsburgh in the near future.
Now it’s about staying the course until the team feels they are in shape to be contenders and ready to add.
The thought is that second baseman Neil Walker is next in line for an extension and while the two sides are talking and very far apart at the moment, I wouldn’t rush into giving Walker big money so soon. I would want to see if he can provide consistent production before I do and there are questions if he can do that. Even just comparing Cutch’s value to the team (5.5 WAR) to Walker’s (2.5 WAR), you need to make sure you’re spending the money wisely.
It’s about baby steps. When you were as bad as the Pirates were in 2007 when Huntington arrived.
Now the fans have something to be excited about as one of the games future best players is locked up for the forseeable future. Make no mistake about it. McCutchen is here because he wants to win in Pittsburgh.
Now the final step is to slowly start to win in the future. That will be easier knowing McCutchen will be in the everyday lineup.
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