FanPost

The pirates should not trade Andrew McCutchen



There has been some recent talk here that the pirates should trade Andrew McCutchen now or at the 2012 trade deadline.  Here are a few reasons why we should not:

He's cheap.

McCutchen will make league minumum next year and will still be worth more than his value throughout his 3 arbitration years.  He will be a great deal for the Pirates and is locked up for 4 more years.  It would not be smart for the pirates to trade a blooming superstar while he is still making league minumum, unless you are signifigantly overpaid.

He's our only star.

This is not always a reason not to trade player.  When you are starting a rebuilding rebuilding process and you have a veteran star on a veteran team it is often very smart to trade him if you get good value.  But when you are in the middle of a rebuilding process with a young, blooming star and a young team that could very well win while the star is still under team control, it is not often smart to trade him.  If the pirates were to trade McCutchen it would signifigently weaken an already very poor lineup and anger a rejuvinated fanbase.

His value's not going down.

The reason some of you want to trade McCutchen is because you think his value is at its highest because he has shown he's a star and has not hit arbitration.  This would be true if McCutchen is not going to improve.  Say two years from now McCutchen is coming off .900ops season his value would be simaler to what it is now.  If you then trade him you are getting 2 productive years off McCutchen and getting the same value.  Even if you lose a little value it is still worth it because he is such a great player.

Starling Marte is not a guarentee.

I really like Marte as a prospect, I consider him the third best in our system, but he is still a prospect and no prospect is a lock.  Marte will not even be ready until atleast midseason.  In that time injuries or slumps can create openings in the outfield.  If Marte out plays Tabata or Presley it's his job, but he is not a good enogh prospect to force us to trade McCutchen.

In conclusion, it would not be smart to McCutchen.  It would hurt the team now and likely a couple years down the road.  It would discourage fans and leave a hole in center field atleast for a couple months until Marte ready.  I would not trade McCutchen unless a team overpays by a lot.  He is a blooming star and the face of our franchise.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the managing editors or SB Nation. FanPosts are written by Bucs Dugout readers.