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Pittsburgh Pirates Are Wasting Andrew McCutchen’s Prime

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Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew McCutchen is a Gold Glove outfielder, the reigning National League MVP, the face of the franchise and he is wasting away his prime. As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, it kills me to write those last couple words, but the truth hurts. The Pirates need to bring in players who can provide more offensive support for McCutchen. Russell Martin and Neil Walker are good players and should still be part of the lineup, but as good as they are, neither one should bat fourth. McCutchen is arguably the best player in baseball, and until the Pirates can win a division title and advance to a World Series, his talents are going to waste.

It has been a great experience watching Pittsburgh push for the division title the past two years and finishing both seasons over .500 for the first time since 1992. The only problem for the Pirates is that, once Pittsburgh fans taste victory, they expect more. The progress that this team has made has been in leaps and bounds, but the Pirates need to be better sooner rather than later.

Ever since the 1992 season ended, it felt like the Pirates had been in rebuilding mode every year. Pittsburgh would get a semi-decent player and would turn around and trade him for prospects. Pittsburgh picked in the top half of the draft almost every year and would continually hope that fans would stick around to buy tickets and merchandise.

Something about the past few seasons has felt different, however. The Pirates traded for Ike Davis this season, and the season before that it was Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau. Pittsburgh signed free agents who could help the team, and they continued to move young talent up through the minor leagues. These steps are admirable, but all that they have gotten the Pirates are early playoff losses and heartbreak.

It is time for the Pirates to make some big moves in order to maximize McCutchen’s abilities. The front office needs to cut loose some of the dead weight that has been building up on the roster over the years, expand the cap ceiling and start to trade off some prospects in order to bring in some big-name players.

Players like Davis, Jose Tabata, Gaby Sanchez and Clint Barmes should either not be re-signed or should be cut. Davis and Tabata are both players who did not really pan out the way the team had expected. Davis didn’t cost Pittsburgh much, but Tabata was signed to a contract that was way too exorbitant for his abilities. The talent was there, but Tabata never lived up to his potential. Conversely, the Pirates knew what they were getting with Sanchez and Barmes and, even though they delivered what was promised, both players have outlived their usefulness and should be shown the door.

If the Pirates don’t progress further in the playoffs and win significant games in October, what will keep McCutchen in Pittsburgh after his contract expires? McCutchen has given his all to Pittsburgh both on and off of the field. Shouldn’t the team start to give him some big-time wins in return? There is good talent around McCutchen now, but the team needs to continue to add more talent in order to keep him in a Pirates uniform.

Andrew Lenz is a Blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RealAndyLenz, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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