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McCutchen still a Pirate as Meetings loom
- Updated: December 3, 2016
PITTSBURGH — Two days of non-stop speculation have come and gone. Two days remain until the official start of the Winter Meetings. For now, Andrew McCutchen is still a Pirate.
Beginning Monday, MLB.com and MLB Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the 2016 Winter Meetings from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C. Fans can watch live streaming of all news conferences and manager availability on MLB.com, including the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.
The rumors continued to swirl Friday as the Pirates went about their offseason business, talking trades on several fronts and considering their free-agent options. The Nationals remained in the “lead” for McCutchen, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reported early Friday, and the Rangers were among the other clubs in contact with the Bucs regarding the five-time All-Star and 2013 National League MVP.
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But Friday’s 8 p.m. ET non-tender deadline passed without a trade, a reminder of two truths amid the relentless rumblings: The Pirates don’t have to trade McCutchen, the face of the franchise, and they certainly don’t have to do so on anyone else’s timetable.
In need of a center fielder, the Nationals hoped to land McCutchen by Friday’s deadline, according to an ESPN report by ESPN, so they could move Trea Turner back to shortstop and subsequently non-tender Danny Espinosa, who would no …
