Neil finally signed McC and it's a pretty good deal too.

[Illinest]

Bill Brink ‏ @BrinkPG Source: #Pirates, Andrew McCutchen agree to terms on six-year, $51.5 million contract w/club option for $14.75 million.

 

[Illinest]

by the way you're welcome.

http://t.co/2HMuDUyt

 

[Darkstone42]

That's a really solid deal for the Pirates. Six years and an average salary of $8.58 million per is very team-friendly. And it takes McCutchen through his prime and to the wrong side of 30.

Well now that we've locked up our number one player long-term, perhaps we'll be able to extend Walker, and ultimately start attracting free agents.

 

[thecrow124]

The club option is funny to me, I would have exercised it the moment he signed the deal, it is still a bargain price for his services at a time when his skillset still should not be on the decline.

 

[element1286]

Awesome, thought they'd have to pay more to be honest.

 

[pixburgher66]

Best. News. Ever. This shows that management is serious, and people can shut up about this ownership not spending. After spending tons on the draft, picking up a guy like Josh Bell who no one thought COULD be signed, trading for Burnett and spending a decent amount of salary on him, resigning Cutch. You can't question their intent right now. You just can't.

 

[Illinest]

Best. News. Ever. This shows that management is serious, and people can shut up about this ownership not spending. After spending tons on the draft, picking up a guy like Josh Bell who no one thought COULD be signed, trading for Burnett and spending a decent amount of salary on him, resigning Cutch. You can't question their intent right now. You just can't.

You're stretching it too much. Signing your own players to team friendly deals when the player has an incentive to share some risk with the team doesn't make the team not cheap. And when I question their intent I do so with the knowledge that they could've signed ANY free agent on the market in any of the last 3 years - but particularly this year - and they still would've had a lower payroll than some other teams that exist in similarly sized markets.

 

[magnumo]

Gotta admit that I'm a bit surprised..... in a positive way. Several previous reports had suggested that no deal was imminent because:

- McCutchen didn't want to sell any free agent years.

- The Pirates offer was low enough to be "insulting."

It appears that both sides made adjustments to their expectations and agreed to "share the risk." Now, I'm guessing that just about all Pirate fans are hoping that Cutch stays healthy and continues to develop toward his potential.

And I agree with pixburgher: Hopefully, the "Nutting is Cheap" crowd will be quieted, at least for a while.

 

[Illinest]

Nope. Not quieted. Payroll is still 10-40 million below that of other teams in similarly sized markets.

I do think it's likely to be a good deal. I've always been a huge fan of McC. I was never worried about him - not even when his performance seemed to be underwhelming in the minors. I think there's a pretty good chance that there'll be a few monster seasons in there. I expect a few seasons of .900+ OPS

 

[pixburgher66]

Listen, you can't have your cake and eat it too (this may not apply to you, but does to most of the cynics): first people say he's cheap and needs to spend money on the free agents. That's understandable, he has the money, why not spend? Then people say don't spend money on these crappy over the hill players who have nothing left in the tank. Also understandable. BUT, when a team can't attract big name free agents, they aren't just going to overspend to get anyone. That's the position the Pirates are in, or were, the past few offseasons. Those we wanted we couldn't attract, those we could attract had to be overpaid. It's a bad cycle. This is a team friendly deal, good term, and saves money for other players. I think this is a stepping stone type deal. I think this is a deal fans will look back on in a few years and say it changed the approach other players took to looking at Pittsburgh. If we lock up Walker and continue to develop these promising young players, we're in a very good spot.

 

[magnumo]

Can't agree with you on that post, pixburgher, on a couple of points:

- The Pirates won't (and shouldn't be) in the market for "big name free agents." Unfortunately, pursuing such players makes no sense for small market teams. Until and unless MLB changes its financial landscape, that's just the way it is. The only foreseeable circumstance where the Pirates MIGHT pursue a big name free agent is if they were "one player away" AND had the financial flexibility to go after such a guy. That combination seems pretty unlikely.

- IMO, the Pirates won't be in a "very good spot" until they start to win ballgames. I don't think locking up Walker will do it. The team needs pitching more than anything else. When some of our promising young arms make it to the majors..... and PERFORM in the majors, THEN the team may be in a very good spot.

Signing McCutchen was a good step, but it's only a step. And the signing doesn't change the makeup of the team or the outlook for the upcoming season. Only good pitching will do that.

 

[Darkstone42]

I do think this was our most aggressive offseason at the very least, so that's something. I would like to see a few more aggressive offseasons following this one. From the top down, the organization needs to aggressively pursue winning, and this is the closest the front office has been to doing that in a long time.

But there is still work to be done.

Lots of it.

 

[thedddd]

I am glad a deal got done. Like others not 100% sure of the Front office yet but it is a good sign that your best player is willing to sign long-term. If not we all knew he was gone the first day he hit FA.

 

[Burgh Sports Rule]

I am very pleased & happy that the McCutchen deal got done. However, I will not give any undo extra credit to Nutting on this. As others have already stated, this is just step 1.

This deal was supposed to get done. Locking up your own best young players, is what all MLB teams are supposed to do. It is just the cost of doing business, if you wish to own an MLB team.

I am thrilled that the Pirates, finally seem to be opening up the purse strings a bit via the draft & with Tabata & now Cutch.

However, I don't think that they deserve any extra credit for this. It is what they should be doing, if we are to have an MLB team in Pittsburgh. Yes, we will never be able to get to the spending levels of the Yankees & Red Sox, but I think locking up our own good young players is something that the Pirates should have been doing long ago.

It was why the city built PNC Park in the 1st place to keep them here.

Something they told us that they would do, if the park was built. 11yrs ago folks! (2001)

I am very happy today, but McCutchen's extension shoud not be viewed as a watershed event. This is only what the Pirates should have been doing all along & they need to keep getting deals like this one done. Not only with their own players but the right FA's sprinkled in as well.

Well done Bucs. But keep doing it, again & again.

Burgh.

 

[thecrow124]

I am very pleased & happy that the McCutchen deal got done. However, I will not give any undo extra credit to Nutting on this. As others have already stated, this is just step 1.

This deal was supposed to get done. Locking up your own best young players, is what all MLB teams are supposed to do. It is just the cost of doing business, if you wish to own an MLB team.

I am thrilled that the Pirates, finally seem to be opening up the purse strings a bit via the draft & with Tabata & now Cutch.

However, I don't think that they deserve any extra credit for this. It is what they should be doing, if we are to have an MLB team in Pittsburgh. Yes, we will never be able to get to the spending levels of the Yankees & Red Sox, but I think locking up our own good young players is something that the Pirates should have been doing long ago.

It was why the city built PNC Park in the 1st place to keep them here.

Something they told us that they would do, if the park was built. 11yrs ago folks! (2001)

I am very happy today, but McCutchen's extension shoud not be viewed as a watershed event. This is only what the Pirates should have been doing all along & they need to keep getting deals like this one done. Not only with their own players but the right FA's sprinkled in as well.

Well done Bucs. But keep doing it, again & again.

Burgh.[/QUOT


You are wrong on this. There was no reason before now to have signed anyone long term before now. Had we signed Jason Bay or anyone else before now it would have been wasted money. There was no future of this team when he was here. Now there is a future and it is the time to start signing players like McCutchen and Tabatha to long term deals.

 

[steelparrot]

Wow, I didnt think this was going to happen. Three years of free agency is a big win for the Pirates. Only Walker left to extend now, but only if its closer to Tababa's deal imo.

Looks like the outfield is set for the next 7 years with MCcutchen and 2 of Tabata, Presley, Marte and Grossman. Hopefully Alvarez and Sanchez have big years, throw in a big step up by one of our short stops and we might have a pretty big window when our big guns are ready to come up and join the rotation.

 

[Burgh Sports Rule]

I am very pleased & happy that the McCutchen deal got done. However, I will not give any undo extra credit to Nutting on this. As others have already stated, this is just step 1.

This deal was supposed to get done. Locking up your own best young players, is what all MLB teams are supposed to do. It is just the cost of doing business, if you wish to own an MLB team.

I am thrilled that the Pirates, finally seem to be opening up the purse strings a bit via the draft & with Tabata & now Cutch.

However, I don't think that they deserve any extra credit for this. It is what they should be doing, if we are to have an MLB team in Pittsburgh. Yes, we will never be able to get to the spending levels of the Yankees & Red Sox, but I think locking up our own good young players is something that the Pirates should have been doing long ago.

It was why the city built PNC Park in the 1st place to keep them here.

Something they told us that they would do, if the park was built. 11yrs ago folks! (2001)

I am very happy today, but McCutchen's extension shoud not be viewed as a watershed event. This is only what the Pirates should have been doing all along & they need to keep getting deals like this one done. Not only with their own players but the right FA's sprinkled in as well.

Well done Bucs. But keep doing it, again & again.

Burgh.[/QUOT


You are wrong on this. There was no reason before now to have signed anyone long term before now. Had we signed Jason Bay or anyone else before now it would have been wasted money. There was no future of this team when he was here. Now there is a future and it is the time to start signing players like McCutchen and Tabatha to long term deals.

Crow, I agree with you on the past teams & players for the Pirates & you are right, signing those types of players would have been wasted money.

What I was saying was, we should not give the Bucs any extra credit here.

Yes, they have drafted better recently (Or so we believe) However, we should have been drafting the right players & paying them for the last 10yrs.

It is why PNC Park was built, so that we could compete.

However, under DL the drafting budgets & scouting staffs were slashed & we drafted the wrong players on the cheap.

Absolutely, when you have a player like Cutch is expected to be, sign him up long term. Others as well, we now have what is starting to look like a core group.

My point was, I don't want to give the Pirates any extra praise here, because this is what they should have been doing all along.

Getting the Right & somewhat Cost Controlled talent in the draft, developing it & when the time came, signing those players to extensions.

I am happy but as I said, these types of drafts that we have had recently, paying the money for the best HS & college talent, developing someone like Cutch, through our system & extending him & paying him when he becomes a productive MLB Player, is what should have been going on here in Pittsburgh for these last 10 yrs, since PNC was built.

I just don't want to overly praise the Pirates, because McCutchen's deal was something that needed to be done, if we are going to have an MLB team in Pittsburgh.

We are now just starting to do what other MLB Clubs have been doing all along.

I hope that makes my point a little more clear?

Burgh

 

[Illinest]

Yeah - making a big deal about this signing is like praising Pedro Alvarez for making it to the batter's box without eating a cheeseburger.

 

[element1286]

Yea, it needed to be done, but jesus the cynicism in this thread is unreal. The Pirates haven't had too many victories over the years, getting McCutchen signed long term is a victory for the organization and the fans, no matter how one feels about Management/Ownership.

 

[thedddd]

I think the cynicism comes from the 20 years of being bad.

This deal shows they are on the right track but from our perspective as a fan we should support the Pirates for trying. The past attempts really were all futile and a smoke screen unlike this year. They have some promise in the minors, signing McCutchen, Tabata, Bedard and trading for Burnett might be the best off season in the last 20 years.