3 possible Blue Jays trade proposals for McCutchen
Edwin Encarnacion may be gone, but the Toronto Blue Jays still appear to be thinking big.
On Saturday, barely 48 hours after Encarnacion reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the Cleveland Indians, a report surfaced suggesting the Blue Jays may be targeting a replacement in Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen. After nearly dealing the center fielder to the Nationals earlier this month, the Bucs are now publicly saying they aren't shopping him - but will still take calls from interested parties.
It won't be easy for the Blue Jays to grab McCutchen, though, as the Pirates are asking for a large return. And without an elite prospect for Toronto to dangle, these teams would need to get creative. With that in mind, here's three trade proposals that could potentially land McCutchen north of the border.
Deal from strength: Stroman blockbuster
To TOR: McCutchen, IF Chris Bostick
To PIT: P Marcus Stroman, P Glenn Sparkman, P Francisco Rios
Young big-league pitching is the Blue Jays' strength, and they may have to deal from it to get McCutchen. Perhaps the biggest name to watch here is Stroman, one of a trifecta of high-caliber young arms anchoring Toronto's staff alongside 2016 Cy Young candidate Aaron Sanchez and electric closer Roberto Osuna. Stroman's name reportedly popped up in Toronto's talks with the Rockies about Charlie Blackmon, and while that proposal was rejected, Stroman's still the likeliest of the three pitchers to be traded for McCutchen. For the Pirates, adding the 25-year-old to an already stellar young staff might help them stay in contention for a wild-card spot despite trading Cutch. Sparkman, Toronto's Rule 5 pick earlier this month, and the young prospect Rios could help flesh this deal out for Pittsburgh, but as an established big-league pitcher, Stroman's presence could lower the quantity of players surrendered by Toronto.
Rebuild time: Prospects to Pittsburgh
To TOR: McCutchen
To PIT: P Joe Biagini, P Sean Reid-Foley, OF Dalton Pompey, 1B Rowdy Tellez
The tried-and-true prospect route would be far more popular in Toronto - as it would keep its championship-caliber rotation intact - than in Pittsburgh. As noted above, the Blue Jays don't have a singular high-end prospect, but they do possess several intriguing names with solid potential. A return centered around Biagini - last year's Rule 5 pick who became a key member of the Blue Jays' bullpen - along with the slugging first base prospect Tellez, a speedy young outfielder in Pompey, and Toronto's No. 2 prospect in Reid-Foley, might do the trick. All those names, if they pan out, could help the Pirates return to relevance by 2019 at the latest, while McCutchen would slide into the Blue Jays' powerful lineup as Encarnacion's replacement, extending their contention window for another few seasons.
Let's go crazy: 3-team trade with Tigers
Baseball doesn't see many three-team trades anymore, but the Indians' agreement with Encarnacion might open the door to one here. J.D. Martinez has been one of many Tigers players bandied about in trade rumors all winter, and if Detroit wants to begin a tear-down - now that Encarnacion has improved its rival Indians - Martinez would be a perfect replacement for McCutchen in Pittsburgh. A Blue Jays-Pirates-Tigers three-way deal could make it all happen:
- To TOR: McCutchen (from PIT), P Justin Wilson (from DET)
- To PIT: Martinez (from DET), P T.J. Zeuch (from TOR)
- To DET: Pompey, P Connor Greene, C Danny Jansen (from TOR), P Dovydas Neverauskas (from PIT)
Martinez would bring the Tigers a nice prospect haul - primarily from the Blue Jays - to kick-start their rebuild. A bevy of young pitching in their pipeline, meanwhile, means the Pirates can spare Neverauskas, an intriguing Lithuanian right-hander in Triple-A, to land Martinez - Cutch's natural, cheaper lineup replacement who would help the Pirates contend for a wild-card spot in 2017 and '18 - along with another young arm in Toronto's Zeuch, who played his college ball at Pitt. The Blue Jays would not only add McCutchen, but also net a much-needed lefty for the bullpen in Detroit's Wilson, all while holding onto Stroman, Biagini, and Tellez. They'd still give up a lot in prospects, but doing so in a creative three-way deal to land both McCutchen and Wilson would have to be an intriguing thought.