MLB Trade Rumors: 5 teams who should target Andrew McCutchen

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 26: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a grand slam home run in the second inning during the game against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park on September 26, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The grand slam home run was the first of McCutchen's career. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 04: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates smiles as he tips his hat on his way to home plate for an at bat during the game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on September 4, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

4. Baltimore Orioles

Good luck trying to figure out what’s going on with the Baltimore Orioles this offseason. Sure, they have two established pitchers in their starting rotation and three spots up for grabs. Obviously, Dan Duquette and the front office have been hard at work attempting to fill those spots.

Or not.

The Orioles have been floating Manny Machado’s name on the trade block, accepting offers, pulling him back, accepting more offers, not signing any starting pitchers and still not trading Machado a year before he hits free agency. Things are going swimmingly for the Orioles, whose owner steadfastly refuses to rebuild because season-ticket holders might not like it.

For better or worse, the Orioles appear poised to enter the 2018 season trying to contend. Lord knows how they plan to get that done with two decent starting pitchers and three Quad-A arms. The O’s should be rebuilding like the Pirates with Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton and Brad Brach all hitting the open market after next season.

If the Orioles won’t rebuild, then they need to try as hard as possible to build the best roster for 2018 and take one more shot at it. With Trey Mancini establishing himself as a competent left fielder, Baltimore is set in that corner, but Mark Trumbo should not be allowed anywhere right field for the final two years of his contract. With top prospect Austin Hays realistically needing one more season in the minors before he’s ready, it makes some sense for the Orioles to try and use McCutchen as a stopgap measure. Since they won’t sign Lorenzo Cain, Cutch is the next best option for a team that will need to score a ton of runs to have any hope of getting back into the playoff hunt next year.

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