Future prediction: McCutchen...to 1st base??

What makes you say that those other guys are better defensive outfielders thsn McCutchen? I don’t think they are.

Great range + weak arm = good defensive CF. Getting to and catching the ball is more important than throwing it back in once you have it — the advantage of (say) keeping a runner from going to 3rd on a single is a lot less than the advantage of turning the single into an out in the first place.

These numbers bear that out, in that the spread of Arm Runs is a lot smaller than the spread of Range Runs, but I understand if you don’t buy the specific analysis behind them. Still, I think it makes sense to think that range is more important than arm.

And the reason I say this is because he provides the most value to your team NOT playing first base. You mention Josh Bell coming into the discussion a few years from now. He’s the future first baseman in that group. The rest are a total waste of defensive ability in the infield.

I would think Cutch would be far more valuable as a trade commodity than a first baseman, (no evidence just a gut feeling)

Looking at the Pirates and their minor league prospects, I could very well see the possibility that 4 out of the Pirates 8 best players on the team at any given time in the future could be outfielders.

Would you be in favor of the Pirates getting creative in getting those 4 outfielders into the line-up in the regular fashion.

The reason I mentioned McCutchen is that I’d feel pretty good with an outfield of, say, Presley/Marte/Tabata (which I think would be a pretty fantastic defensive outfield, along with very good offense) if you still found a way of getting McCutchen into that line-up.

McCutchen’s future numbers might not be far off from anything you would see out of a Hague/Curry/etc., so I figure that the trade-off of getting a better hitting outfielder into the line-up over a poorer hitting first baseman makes sense to me.

Again, I have no idea if McCutchen could even play the position (as Thunder mentions, McCutchen is a little short for a 1B), and what the implications would be of moving an All-Star CF out of his position because you are having trouble finding a legit 1B.

I think the Pirates will have to continually think in creative terms, in order to get their 8 best players out onto the field at the same time.

Think about it. Basically all the other positions are full, except Catcher. Catcher is too injury prone. Moving Cutch to Shortstop would be great. Make him more valuable and stuff.

…..in the replies posted so far is that McCutchen would provide more value to the Pirates as trade bait rather than playing first base, summarized as follows:

- McCutchen has high value as a CF. His defense contributes to his value, and his bat plays well in CF. Potential trade partners likely would agree.

- McCutchen’s bat (and size) would not play nearly as well at 1B and his speed would be wasted on defense there.

If the other outfielders (Tabata, Presley, Marte, Hernandez, Grossman) continue to perform/develop well enough to confirm the Pirates’ strength in the outfield, it seems that trading from that strength to fill other holes has more potential than moving Cutch to 1B.

Most posters are decrying this idea as stupid or crazy. I agree that it probably won’t ever happen, due to some of the reasons mentioned (offensive value lower as a 1B, risk in asking a marquee player to give up his position) — but probably the main reason is just that baseball folks still tend to be very, very conservative in terms of stuff like that.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I give credit to the OP for coming up with a very interesting idea and a pretty viable solution to a scenario which may very well play out over the next few years.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when in sixty-four.