The Pittsburgh Pirates have ripped the heart out of fans by trading away longtime face of the franchise and former MVP Andrew McCutchen as well as former first overall pick Gerrit Cole.

McCutchen was traded away to the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Kyle Crick and outfielder Bryan Reynolds. Cole was traded on Saturday to the Houston Astros for pitchers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz and prospects third baseman Colin Moran and outfielder Jason Martin.

McCutchen and Cole were both key parts in the Pirates’ resurrection in 2013, as the team made the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. They then led the Pirates to a run of three consecutive playoff appearances.

McCutchen was drafted in the first round by the Pirates in 2005 and made it to the majors in 2009. He has been the face of the franchise since the beginning, and he was in MVP contention from 2011 to 2015, winning it in 2013.

McCutchen showed no interest in leaving Pittsburgh during free agency, and even took less pay in the past to remain with the team.

Cole, meanwhile, was the first overall pick in 2008, and joined the major league team in 2013. He has been the ace of the staff ever since he made it to the majors.

Cole struggled last season, but he’s still young at 27 and still has a lot of potential. He would have been a nice young star to have during the rebuilding process.

Both of these trades were obvious salary dumps for the Pirates in an attempt to earn some money, rather than putting a winning team on the field. Saving money is what the Pirates want to do, not make their fans happy.

These trades will not help to create a winning team. If they trade superstars away as soon as the stars deserve a bigger contract, they will never be able to build a team that can compete. Teams like the L.A. Dodgers or the New York Yankees, which are always willing to spend big money on big players, will always be able to build better teams than the Pirates.

This has been a trend ever since Bob Nutting bought the team back in 2007. The team has made many trades since then, dealing away fan favorites for prospects just to save money.

Baseball is a business and owners shouldn’t keep players just because they are liked. But management should keep them if they will help win games, rather than trading them just to save some money.