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Pirates and Nationals Discussing Andrew McCutchen, Nats Want a Deal Done Today

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Ken Rosenthal has an update on the Andrew McCutchen talks, saying that the Pirates are targeting minor league outfielder Victor Robles from the Washington Nationals and that they’d want more than Robles in a deal.

Rosenthal has previously reported that the Pirates and Nationals discussed a potential McCutchen deal in July, and that the Pirates targeted Robles in that deal. Rosenthal said that the Pirates wanted more than Robles, and a number of other players would have been involved in that deal. So it appears they’re picking up where they left off, although the off-season provides a much easier time for those types of negotiations, since there isn’t a deadline approaching that speeds up the process.

Robles is seen as a guy just outside of the top ten prospects in baseball, and actually has similar upside to McCutchen, with five tool ability and the chance to be an impact player someday. In the long-term, dealing McCutchen for Robles could get the Pirates another version of McCutchen, who they’d have for longer than the current version. But it would only make sense for the Pirates to get more than this, since prospects aren’t guarantees.

The Nationals have a lot of top pitching prospects. I don’t think that Lucas Giolito could be had in a deal that included Robles, but I don’t think it’s out of the question that Reynaldo Lopez could be an option. Robles and Lopez would combine for about $52 M in trade value, while McCutchen would have the same amount with a 5.0 WAR value.

There was a good article on MLB.com by Anthony Castrovince the other day, discussing the teams that have the players to get McCutchen. The Nationals are one of the top teams on the list, due to their prospect depth. The question would be whether they’d want to use those prospects for an outfielder, or use them to go after a starting pitcher like Chris Sale.

The Nationals make the most sense out of any team, since they have the top prospects that the Pirates could get, along with prospects in the top 50 and top 100 that could add to the deal. The Dodgers would be another good team, although they don’t have a prospect as highly ranked as Robles. There also haven’t been actual rumors connecting the Pirates and the Dodgers, outside of a trade idea from Jim Bowden suggesting Jose De Leon and Cody Bellinger as the return for McCutchen. That idea would have similar value to an idea like Robles and Lopez, with the Pirates downgrading the hitting prospect and upgrading the pitching prospect.

UPDATE 12:17 PM: Jayson Stark says that the two teams have “ramped up” discussions. He says that the Nationals would like to make the deal today, since a McCutchen trade would cause a ripple effect that would lead to Danny Espinosa being non-tendered before tomorrow’s deadline. He says that the Pirates are looking for controllable starting pitchers in return.

UPDATE 1:01 PM: Mark Zuckerman says that he’s hearing Robles and Lopez as names involved, but that the Pirates would want a third player.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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