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January 25: McCutchen took to social media in a single day to precise his frustration together with his unsigned standing and the truth that he wasn’t in attendance at PiratesFest this weekend.
“I ponder, did the Playing cards do that [to] Wainwright/Pujols/Yadi? Dodgers to Kershaw? Tigers to Miggy? The listing goes on and on,” McCutchen wrote. “If that is my final yr, it might have been good to satisfy the followers one final time as a participant.”
It’s not the primary time the veteran has alluded to his unsigned standing and the narrative surrounding his future. In a publish on January 19, McCutchen contended with the notion that he’s now not a succesful defender within the outfield, arguing that he merely hasn’t been requested to play the sphere and that the video games he did play the sphere final yr had been at his personal suggestion. Whereas defensive metrics are hardly dependable in such a small pattern measurement, he did price out positively on protection throughout his seven video games within the outfield final yr in line with Outs Above Common and has been price +2 OAA general since transferring to a major DH position with Milwaukee again in 2022.
January 24: After spending 12 of his 18 Main League seasons with the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen mentioned again in August that he wished to return for an additional season within the black-and-gold, whereas acknowledging that his shortcomings in the course of the 2025 season. “I’ve to do what I must do to…present that I used to be capable of have yr and nonetheless can play the next yr,” McCutchen mentioned, noting that he didn’t need to be simply “filling in a spot” and never contributing.
There hasn’t been any buzz about McCutchen’s market as he enters his age-39 season, with the idea being that the Pirates are his solely potential vacation spot. When requested about McCutchen in the course of the PiratesFest fan occasion this weekend, Bucs GM Ben Cherington advised followers and reporters (together with Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette) that the membership continues to be has to assemble extra of its roster earlier than contemplating McCutchen’s position.
“Andrew has meant a ton to the group. He’s had an unbelievable run at two totally different occasions. Definitely his legacy as a Pirate is safe,” Cherington mentioned. “All people with the Pirates, it’s our want to take care of a very good relationship with Andrew nicely into the longer term. Then we come again to our group. What’s the job? The job is to construct a group that offers us the very best likelihood to win video games while you’re on the ballpark in June and July….Our strategy this offseason has been laser-focused on what provides us the very best likelihood to win extra baseball video games in Pittsburgh than now we have up to now seasons. That’s gonna proceed to information our choices.
“A lot respect for Andrew. That relationship is basically vital to us. We’ll proceed to speak with him instantly because the group comes collectively. We’ve extra work to do.”
McCutchen hit .239/.333/.367 with 13 homers over 551 plate appearances in 2025, translating to a 95 wRC+. Whereas it was simply the second time in McCutchen’s stellar profession that he dropped below the 100 wRC+ mark for league-average offense, most of his Statcast metrics had been additionally common at greatest, other than a really robust 12.2% stroll price.
These aren’t the numbers you need from a chosen hitter particularly, and McCutchen is primarily a DH at this level in his profession, with solely 20 video games performed within the outfield throughout his 2023-25 return tenure in Pittsburgh. To this finish, the Pirates have seemingly already addressed the DH spot by signing Ryan O’Hearn, who might alternate with Spencer Horwitz between the primary base and DH positions within the lineup.
O’Hearn also can play within the nook outfield, and since O’Hearn and Horwitz are each left-handed hitters, there would seemingly be some roster area for Cutch as a part-time righty bat who is probably restricted to dealing with southpaw pitching. As Cherington implied, nonetheless, the Pirates stay in search of methods to enhance the group. If meaning selecting between McCutchen or a youthful and extra versatile place participant, the second choice would possibly merely make extra sense for the Pirates.
Enhancing the offense has been the membership’s chief aim this winter. Between O’Hearn, Brandon Lowe, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Jake Mangum, the Bucs hope they’ve already each raised the ceiling and elevated the ground of their offensive potential, plus it might naturally assist a ton if Bryan Reynolds or Oneil Cruz bounced again from disappointing 2025 campaigns. As underwhelming as McCutchen’s 2025 numbers had been, his 95 wRC+ nonetheless ranked fourth amongst all Pirates hitters final yr, talking to the lackluster state of Pittsburgh’s lineup.
If McCutchen was another participant, it in all probability wouldn’t even be a query that the Pirates would transfer from an getting old DH-only bat. Nonetheless, reducing ties with a franchise icon doesn’t sound like one thing Cherington (or seemingly proprietor Bob Nutting) desires to do till it’s completely needed, or if Cutch makes the choice to retire on his personal phrases. A part of the rationale McCutchen returned to the Pirates previous to the 2023 season was his want to be a part of Pittsburgh’s subsequent profitable period, but with seven straight dropping seasons, the Bucs have but to totally escape of their rebuild.
Breaking via to no less than a profitable file (and perhaps a playoff berth) with McCutchen on the roster could be perfect for all events. McCutchen’s earlier three one-year offers with the Pirates had been signed earlier within the offseason than January 24, although in fact there’s nonetheless loads of time earlier than Spring Coaching for a deal to be labored out between the 2 sides.
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