The Pirates are slightly shifting course

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The Pirates are one of the most interesting teams in the league right now. They’re now a few years removed from perennially being among the worst teams, but they’ve also never really been able to take that next step. Now, they find themselves in probably the most inopportune divisions, as the Cubs appear to be poised to sit atop the NL Central for the foreseeable future. When Chicago doesn’t win, St. Louis is still there to battle it out with Pittsburgh, and we all know the Cardinals can’t be bad even if they try. Given their inability (or, unwillingness) to expand their payroll by a significant amount, the whole situation becomes that much more difficult.

It’s because of all this that the Pirates have been rumored to be looking to move Andrew McCutchen all winter. At this point, it doesn’t seem like the face of the franchise will be moved, but that hasn’t completely stopped the rumors. Such a move would signal a rebuild for most teams, but that’s not necessarily the case in Pittsburgh. With top prospect Austin Meadows on the cusp of the majors, they may have McCutchen’s replacement in the organization already. That’s not to say it’d be the right move to make, but it’s not necessarily rebuilding.

Now that those rumors are mostly dead, however, the Pirates may be pushing back towards veterans to try and compete in their top-heavy division. It started with a minor move, bringing in Daniel Hudson to battle with Tony Watson at the back of their bullpen. Hudson certainly isn’t on the same level as the big relievers who have gone elsewhere this year, but he’s an improvement over what they had.

Now, they are reportedly going hard after Jose Quintana. The lefty is right on the cusp of being a star, and has a team-friendly contract that would fit right in Pittsburgh’s self-imposed budget. They would have to part with Meadows in any deal, most likely, but it would be the right type of target for a team that should be moving it’s chips in, not hoarding them.