He all but instructed his baseball men not to part with any of the team's handful of elite prospects, even though it would be the cheapest route. Outfielder Starling Marte, for example, cost only an $85,000 signing bonus but could net quite the return.
"One thing we won't do is mortgage the future of the club ever again," Nutting said. "Neal's going to need to make decisions that are good for the long term of the Pittsburgh Pirates and be able to make sure we're playing important games this September but also next September and the year after that."