Pittsburgh Pirates

Why the Pirates might regret not trading Andrew McCutchen

Published Dec. 14, 2016 8:41 a.m. ET

Chris Bahr

Well, this could get awkward. Heading into this week’s MLB Winter Meetings, it appeared Andrew McCutchen was the superstar most likely to get traded. However, as the executives left the meetings on Thursday morning, McCutchen was still a Pittsburgh Pirate – as he has been for his entire eight-year major-league career.

McCutchen reportedly was shopped aggressively by the Pirates, who apparently never found a trade partner willing to meet their demands. The Nationals and Rangers, both of whom were linked to McCutchen, addressed their center-field needs with other moves. Washington acquired Adam Eaton from the White Sox, and Texas re-signed Carlos Gomez.

So, where do McCutchen and the Pirates go from here -- other than to the hardware store for supplies to mend a few fences?

On Wednesday evening, McCutchen sent this cryptic tweet, complete with an emoji with a zipper on its mouth:

And Pirates GM Neal Huntington addressed the issue on Thursday morning:

McCutchen, 30, is a five-time All-Star and the 2013 NL MVP. In fact, he finished in the top five of the NL MVP voting every year from 2012-15. However, he had the worst offensive season of his career in 2016, batting .256/.336/.430 with 24 homers and 79 RBI. According to defensive metrics, his play in center field also declined.

He is owed $14 million in 2017 with a team option worth $14.5 million for the 2018 season. Thus, Pittsburgh never really had to part ways with McCutchen.

So, while a trade still could happen this offseason – spring training still is more than two months away, and the Dodgers remain one possible suitor – the Pirates appear to be content with hanging on to McCutchen. It remains to be seen, however, whether McCutchen will stay in center field or swap positions with left fielder Starling Marte. And whether McCutchen would vehemently oppose such a move.

And then there’s the issue of how much all of this affected McCutchen, who has been the face of the franchise during its recent revival. That emoji actually might have said an awful lot despite the zipper.