Trading him while his value is low is the smartest thing?
I'd probably wait until mid-season 2017 or next off-season.
His value certainly isn't at its highest, but it may never be higher than it is right now again. There are big chunks of Cutch's game that aren't going to recover and he needs to adjust to make-up for...he's not getting his speed back. Hopefully he redefines his game around his evolving skillset, but he sure as hell didn't show any willingness to do that this year.
they need a fresh start and to move on, not go into the season with that whole thing weighing on their backs.
A definite concern.
Doesn't matter if he had a bad season. GMs and executives know how good of a player he is, & the fact that the Pirates have him under control for 2 more seasons will dissuade teams from low balling them.
That also plays to their advantage in the sense the team will be acquiring him for his age 30&31 seasons @ a very very cheap 14 million, & someone who had 33 fWAR from 2011-2015.
And this is the biggest thing...he still has a lot of value, which he may or may not have next year, he has a team-friendly contract even with his down year, and you can't help but look at the team's situation...McCutchen is the Pirates' third best center fielder today, and may soon be the fourth with Meadows being a blue chipper in AAA.
All I know is that I'm not open to offering him a long-term extension at this point in time, and I'd rather get a big haul via trade than have him play his contract out when the Pirates are flush with outfielders. He wasn't exactly a pleasant person this season, either...the way he publicly *****ed about a scorekeeper giving him an error on a play he should have made (which of course was overturned) really rubbed me the wrong way. Nothing was ever his fault this year. It was a dark turn considering his typically jovial nature.
I adore the man and I always will, but given the year he had, given the Pirates having an owner who doesn't like to spend a dime more than he has to, and given the Pirates' organizational depth at the position...you have to explore every option available, and it's hard to deny that a trade makes a lot of sense for every party involved.