Now’s the time for Bucs to trade McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen had his worst Major League season in 2016, by Wins Above Replacement, OPS, strikeouts and stolen bases, among other measures. But looking deeply into the numbers, he posted an .852 OPS from the start of August onward, beginning after a three-game benching by Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.

As long as rival general managers believe McCutchen’s late-season production is sustainable for the near-to-medium term, the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player Award winner will have plenty of trade value as the Winter Meetings draw near. McCutchen turned 30 on Oct. 10, and he has two years left on his contract, putting him within an age range that appeals to teams.

The Pirates are willing to trade McCutchen this offseason, for a number of reasons: They have an in-house replacement to play center field, Starling Marte, whose metrics say would be a defensive upgrade. The Pirates’ payroll — MLB’s sixth lowest in 2016 — makes McCutchen’s salary unwieldy as he enters his 30s. And it would be harder to extract good talent from other teams in a trade next offseason, when there is only one year remaining on McCutchen’s contract.

The Mariners spoke with the Pirates about McCutchen earlier this offseason, sources said over the weekend. Those talks did not advance, the sources indicated, but a trade fit still exists: Seattle wants right-handed power and could play McCutchen in left field, where a combination of two unproven players (Shawn O’Malley and Guillermo Heredia) is the current setup.

McCutchen’s contract lacks …

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