Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Ideal Landing Spots for McCutchen

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yesterday was an off day in baseball as we await game five between the Nationals and Dodgers, so I got to perusing the internet for some Pittsburgh Pirates articles. One that struck my fancy was a piece over at Yanks Go Yard speculating what it would take for the Yankees to land Andrew McCutchen. We all know that the Pirates will likely at least shop McCutchen this winter. Could the Yankees be a landing spot?

They have Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner occupying two of the outfield spots, and some combination of Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge manning the final spot. Prospect Clint Frazier is waiting in the wings as well. McCutchen is a much better option than either of the latter two players, even in a off year like he had this past season. A trade for McCutchen would make a lot of sense in the short-term as the team waits for Frazier to be ready. They can then decide whether to sign McCutchen long-term or not based on if he rebounds.

What other teams would make sense for McCutchen? How about the Tigers, manning center field next to J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton? We know the Tigers are still in a win-now mode with guys like Justin Verlander, Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, and other veterans still providing above-average production. The Mariners could also make sense, another team that was just on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Nori Aoki, Leonys Martin, and Seth Smith patrolled the outfield for most of the season, but Aoki is a free agent this off-season. This move would take either Martin or McCutchen agreeing to move out of center field, but McCutchen could certainly be a nice addition for Seattle.

The Astros could make sense as well. Colby Rasmus is a free agent, and McCutchen would fill a hole in center and be a nice veteran presence next to George Springer and either Tony Kemp or Teoscar Hernandez. The Astros are a team on the rise, and McCutchen might just be the type of player they need to get back to the postseason.

There are a lot of teams that would like Andrew McCutchen. And there are plenty of teams that would be a good fit for him. Ideally, the Pirates would send him to an American League team, but this is a debate that will certainly rage on all off-season long.

Baseball Talk Around the Web

• Tuesday night was a game that many Cubs fans will never forget. Jayson Stark of ESPN says that it’s finally time to believe in the Cubs (if you haven’t already).
• The Indians are about to play in the ALCS, and their offense has been a large reason they’ve gotten this far. Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs gives you an underrated part of their offense that you probably didn’t think of.
• The Red Sox were on the receiving end of much of that Cleveland offense in the ALDS. But Dayn Perry of CBS Sports says that Boston is still set up well for 2017.

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