GM’s hands tied because of finances

financial situation, Rodriguez pointed to the moves stemming from that financial situation and market size.

“There were some moves made in ‘16 I guess that kind of hurt a lot of that,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like a big piece of thecore was chipped off.”

Rodriguez did not say whether he was talking about the trade of Neil Walker after the 2015 season or the trade of Mark Melancon at the 2016 trade deadline. It could have been either or both. Money was involved in both scenarios. The Pirates were not going to re-sign either one and wanted to get as much in return as possible rather than letting both impending free agentswalk.

Thesituation is similar this year with Andrew McCutchen, who, like Walker in 2015, has one year remaining free agency.

Trading him would bring back more than just the compensatory pick if McCutchen declined a qualifying ofqualifying offer, and save $14.75 million. The Pirates hold club options on Josh Harrison for 2019 and 2020, but he is making $10 million next season. (Were they to trade Gerrit Cole, who is drawing interest, the move would not be purely financially motivated; rather, Cole would bring back the best return of anyone the Pirates could potentially move.)

Theymight not trade any of these players, and indications from around the industry are that they’re not necessarily attempting to. But the financial construct under which the Pirates operate means they haveto consider it.

This offseason, Huntington could face a greater challenge. Their payroll estimate, including guaranteed contracts, arbitration projections

and the rest of the roster filled with players making at or near the $545,000 minimum salary, is approaching $100 million without the Pirates adding anything. Attendance last season dropped by more than 4,000 fans per game from 2016, which will cut into the Pirates revenue. “We recognize that the attendance drop is reflective of a fanbase that wants a winner, and we’re going to do what we can to put a winner back out there, to draw them back out, and reward them,” Huntington said. But the Pirates still receive revenue sharing. And team president Frank Coonelly told fans at PiratesFest that the club’s share of Disney’s $1.58 billion investment in BAMTech — an arm of MLB Advanced Media, MLB’s interactive media and Internet company — will be available next yearbefore and be “reinvested into the club here.” According to Sports Business Journal, each team could receive $50 million. Huntington cannot spend money he does not have, so he has to balance the team’s future with possible disruptions to the present. Rodriguez mentioned a diminished 2016 version of the team-first, selfless mindset the Pirates had in 2015, when they won 98 games. “I respect the players’ passion,” Huntington said. “I respect Sean and the leadership he shows in our clubhouse, and we want them to be passionate. We want them to believe that they can win. We want them to feel like they want us to be in with them. I think those are Sean’s feelings, and I respect those a ton.”