Report: Mets turned down Pirates' ask of Nimmo in McCutchen talks
It seems the New York Mets found the Pittsburgh Pirates' asking price for one year of Andrew McCutchen a little too steep.
Sources told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Mets refused Pittsburgh's offer of McCutchen for young outfielder Brandon Nimmo during recent talks. Pittsburgh instead ended up trading McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants for two players on Monday.
As for the Mets, Rosenthal reports that their rejection of the Pirates' proposal ultimately led them back to the free-agent market, where they reportedly reached agreement on a contract with outfielder Jay Bruce last week.
But the 24-year-old Nimmo may not be entirely off limits in New York's talks with Pittsburgh. According to Rosenthal, the Mets believe that Nimmo could be part of another trade with Pittsburgh - perhaps even the centerpiece - to pry All-Star utility man Josh Harrison out of the Steel City.
Harrison, who publicly stated on Tuesday that he'd prefer the Pirates trade him if they don't have plans to contend, is under contract for three more seasons, including club options in 2019 ($10.5 million) and '20 ($11.5 million) that should be easily exercised when they come up barring a sudden downturn in production.
That's a stark contrast to McCutchen, who is entering the final year of his contract and would have offered the Mets no guarantees about sticking around beyond 2018. The difference in controllable years appears to be behind the Mets' preference to use Nimmo - who has another five seasons of team control left - in a deal for Harrison, as opposed to what would have been just a single season from the former NL MVP.
Nimmo was limited to just 69 games because of injuries in 2017, but was productive when he was at full health, hitting .260/.379/.418 with five homers and 21 RBIs for the Mets. Should he stay in New York, he'll likely battle with Bruce and Michael Conforto for playing time in the outfield.
Other teams who have been linked with Harrison this offseason besides the Mets include their crosstown rival Yankees, as well as the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays.