Originally Posted by
Turk
The Pirates are stuck in the "Cutch-22" (see what I did there?) of watching him return to MVP form and getting pennies in the dollar on a trade in 2017 because they can't afford him and everyone knows it, or having him continue to struggle and get even less (or even nothing) because no one wants a replacement-level $15M outfielder.
If he returns to prior form, they won't have to take a steep discount to trade him. At that level, he's a season-changing talent, and multiple contending teams would badly want to add him if he was dangled. His contract isn't an obstacle given how little is left on it, and if he really did return to form, a pretty team friendly 2018 option only makes him more attractive. Obviously if he continues to struggle that's a different story, but if he can be the player he used to be, he's a very valuable trade piece.
Demented and sad, but social, right?