Andrew McCutchen wants to stay a Pirate long term, but will he?
Andrew McCutchen is the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh Pirates and while he understandably might not be a big fan of the one-game wild-card system, he'd like to remain in Pittsburgh long term.
This topic has come up frequently at spring training, with McCutchen telling ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that, "Everyone knows I want to be here. So that's nothing new to anyone."
McCutchen is 29 and still has three years left on the six-year, $51.5 million deal he signed with the Pirates in 2012 in order to avoid arbitration.
Free agency is still awhile away, but McCutchen reiterated to Stark that, "money doesn't define me." He went on, talking about his potential value on the market:
On Tuesday, Pirates GM Neal Huntington was asked by Stark about McCutchen's situation and effectively told Stark the team will discuss a new contract with him, "at the appropriate time." It's just not something on the front burner right now, due to his current contract:
McCutchen will be on the "wrong side of 30" years old when his current deal runs out. Under the terms of his current deal, he won't be among the game's top 20 highest-paid outfielders in the game. He'll make $13 million this season, $14 million in 2017 and his club option for 2018 would be $14.5 million.
McCutchen, though, is now a well-established star in the league. He's the face of the Pirates' newly-announced 1979 throwback uniforms, has made five consecutive All-Star teams, finished in the top five of the NL MVP voting each of the past four years (winning the award in 2013) and is the most vital cog in the Pirates' lineup.
Whether the Pirates are able to re-sign him long term and keep together the elements necessary to continue to contend in the NL Central will be the challenge, as Huntington said.
At the very least, the Pirates will be able to try to extend their current window for the next two, maybe three seasons under the terms of McCutchen's current deal and then go from there.
