The Pittsburgh Pirates’ recent upswing has complicated their trade deadline plans.
Outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who had previously looked like an obvious trade candidate, is now reportedly more likely than not to remain with Pittsburgh, at least for the remainder of the season, according to a report.
#Pirates leaning against trading McCutchen, but source tells me they've given him no indication whether they'll pick up club option for 2018
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) July 24, 2017
The Pirates recently went through a stretch where they won 12 of 14, turning them from obvious sellers into a team sitting just three games out of the NL Central lead. They are still under .500 and their players are still being linked elsewhere, but their strategy is much less obvious now in light of their recent hot streak.
