Pirates acquired starting pitcher Drew Hutchison from the Toronto Blue Jays right at the trade deadline in the infamous Francisco Liriano salary dump trade (or whatever else you want to call it). The Pirates then kept him down in AAA in order to have control of him for one additional year than they would have if they had him up initially. However, he didn't really contribute much in September for the club, and his future is in certain jeopardy. His role on the Pirates is shrouded in mystery and the questions about what they will do with him loom. So, I will look at many angles of this to see what the Pirates should do with the right-hander.
1) Put him in a rotation: The obvious spot for him is in the rotation as he is a starter by trade. However, given the multitude of younger options the Pirates have and the immense likelihood they will add another starting pitcher or two this offseason, the spot in the MLB rotation doesn't appear to be his to lose, let alone win for that matter. And it would seem rather odd to make the trade they did to get him and praise how much they like him just to have him be minor league depth in the end.
2) Put him in the bullpen: The bullpen might be just the spot for Hutchison. The Pirates are in need of a long man in that bullpen and normally like to get a former veteran starter to do it. Well, this time around, they may not need to find one elsewhere as they may already have one in Hutchison. Many pitchers get better upon being switched from starter to reliever, and it is very possible Hutchison could be another. I would give him the inside track to the long reliever job because he is a more veteran guy that brings more MLB experience to the table than Williams, Brault, or others. I think the Pirates would also feel more compelled to experiment a long man role with Hutchison instead of their younger starting pitchers who they would rather want to keep as starters for now.
3) Trade him: The demand for starting pitching is sky high right now. Just about every team is looking for it. It's possible a team looks at Hutchison and thinks he's got potential (which is what the Pirates thought when trading for him). I don't think he'd bring back anything of much use in a trade, but I could certainly see a couple of teams biting on him given the starting pitching market. The most likely teams in on him would be teams rebuilding that are waiting for their younger pitchers to mold and just want an able body in there to stopgap while also hoping he pitches well enough for them to be a good trade chip at the deadline.
Any of these things could very certainly happen. However, if I had to guess, I'd say Hutchison will be on the Pirates opening day roster as the reliever. If he's not, then he will be on a rebuilding teams' Opening Day roster as a starter. I don't see him in the Pirates rotation or as AAA filler. It just doesn't make sense either way. In the end, the Pirates potentially have a commodity in Hutchison, if he is used the right way.
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