The five best landing spots for Andrew McCutchen

The 2016 Major League Baseball free-agent market may be the weakest the sport has seen in years, but an active trade market could save the offseason. A number of elite players are rumored to be on the block, including Chris Sale, Miguel Cabrera and Chris Archer.

The latest big-name player to join that group is Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. While some speculated he might be available at the start of the offseason, it’s becoming more likely McCutchen will open 2017 with another club, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Our own Jeff Passan has heard the same.

Despite McCutchen’s struggles in 2016, he still has plenty of value moving forward. He’s still just 30 years old, and is set to make a reasonable $14 million in 2017 with a $14.5 million club option in 2018. That’s a great price if you think McCutchen is due for a rebound.

That’s probably a fair assumption. There’s evidence McCutchen was hindered by an injury last year, which may have contributed to his disappointing .256/.336/.430 slash line. Prior to last season, McCutchen had a career .298/.388/.496 slash line. Given his age, there’s no reason to think he’s suddenly fallen off a cliff. With that said, even if he can’t recapture his elite form, he should easily live up to his contract over the next two years.

Because of that, there should be significant interest for McCutchen on the market. It’s not often that a perennial MVP candidate finds himself on the trade block, and teams should be lining up to pry him away from Pittsburgh.

While pretty much every team in baseball could use a player of McCutchen’s quality, only a few have the immediate need and the resources to get a deal done.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five clubs that would benefit most from landing McCutchen this offseason.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
In many ways, this is the ideal fit. The Nationals are set up to win now, are expected to be aggressive this offseason and have never shied away from making blockbuster moves. With McCutchen in tow, the club can move Trea Turner back to shortstop, the position he played while coming up through the minors. It also gives the Nationals a tremendous top-5 in the batting order. Turner would lead off, followed by some combination of McCutchen, Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon. That’s pretty terrifying.

The Nationals have been mentioned as a player for Sale this offseason, so it’s clear they have the pieces needed to get a big deal done. The club has three strong pitching prospects in Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Eric Fedde, and can also dangle outfielder Victor Robles in talks. The pieces are there to make a possible McCutchen deal work. It’s all about finding the right combination of players.

TEXAS RANGERS
Ian Desmond and Carlos Gomez are currently free agents, and centerfielder of the future Lewis Brinson was dealt to Milwaukee last July. That leaves the Rangers with a pretty significant hole in center field right now.

The problem here is whether the Rangers would be willing to part with some of the young players who graduated to the majors last season. Trades for Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltran have left the club without immediate contributors, so they might have to consider parting with Nomar Mazara, Jurickson Profar, Joey Gallo or Rougned Odor in a deal for McCutchen. It’s unclear whether Texas would, or even should, entertain that idea, making it tougher for them to complete a deal. Pitching also seems like the bigger need in Texas, so trading for McCutchen may not be the primary option.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS
McCutchen would do wonders in the Blue Jays’ lineup. With Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista possibly leaving, the team needs another big bat to hit in the middle of the order. That spot isn’t going to be filled by the current outfielders on the club, either. Melvin Upton, Ezekiel Carerra and Kevin Pillar are all useful players, but you wouldn’t call any of them imposing with a bat in their hands.

While McCutchen seems like a perfect fit, it’s unclear whether Toronto has the pieces to get a deal done. The Blue Jays’ farm system isn’t all that strong, and most of their impact players are a few years away from reaching the majors. Toronto should try and make a serious run at McCutchen, but it’s unclear if they have what Pittsburgh is looking for in potential trade.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
The Cardinals have already made it clear that center field is an area they are looking to upgrade this offseason. While they’ve been linked to Dexter Fowler and Ian Desmond, they could opt to go the trade route and snag McCutchen. Tommy Pham is currently slated to open the year as the club’s starter, and that’s not a promising thing for a team expected to contend in 2017.

There are a few problems with this scenario, however. For one, it’s unclear whether the Pirates would be willing to deal McCutchen to a division rival. On top of that, the Cardinals may not possess the necessary youngsters to pull off a trade. Alex Reyes is a tremendous pitching prospect, but it’s unclear whether they would give him up for two years of McCutchen.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
A common theme facing many of the teams looking to acquire McCutchen is that they don’t have the prospects to get a deal done. That’s not really the case with Philadelphia. The club does have a promising young core and could put together enough talent to submit an intruiging offer for McCutchen.

While it’s fun to think about, McCutchen going to Philadelphia may not make a lot of sense. In order to make that deal, the Phillies would have to believe they are able to contend in 2017 or 2018. McCutchen certainly helps them, but he doesn’t make them an immediate playoff contender. This is still a team in need of multiple pieces. Next offseason, it might make sense. Right now, it seems adding McCutchen would only complicate their situation.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik