AP Pirates GM Neal Huntington told fans at Saturday’s PirateFest that he is “optimistic” about signing Andrew McCutchen to a long-term extension before the 25-year-old center fielder reaches free agency.
This according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
McCutchen isn’t eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2012 season and won’t hit free agency until the winter of 2015, so the Bucs aren’t in a great hurry quite yet. But they’ll do their best, once the time comes, to ensure that the face of their franchise is not exposed to the open market. Here’s Huntington:
“When you enter a negotiation, you’re at X, the player’s at Z and you work awfully hard to try to find Y. There has to be a compromise, there has to be a shared risk on both sides.”
McCutchen batted .259/.364/.456 with 23 home runs, 89 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 678 plate appearances this past year for the 72-90 Pirates. Through three major league seasons, he owns an .822 career OPS.
-
- evanwins - Dec 18, 2011 at 3:38 PM
-
WOW! You mean that they think that sometime in the next 4 years they’ll be able to work out a deal with McCutchen.
I am going to be on the edge of my seat for the next 3 years and 9 months awaiting the news
-
- sfs1 - Dec 18, 2011 at 6:35 PM
-
I think you’re missing the point that the Pirates are hoping to buy out his arb years and a year or two beyond that.
-
- bsputnik - Dec 19, 2011 at 6:14 AM
-
There is no way he is going to sign past 2015. He will be traded after 2014 for draft picks and/or prospects. This team will be awful until they are sold. After 20 years, there is not an ounce of optimism left in me.
-
- nategearhart - Dec 19, 2011 at 11:25 AM
-
But on the other hand…Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki, Albert Pujols…….
