Pirates: Andrew McCutchen is said to have agreed to a one-year deal
According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X, the Pirates as well as Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a $5 million deal for one year.
In a longer post, Mackey says that the contract could be made public as early as Wednesday, but only after a physical. McCutchen is represented by Aegis Sports Management.
It’s been a long time coming for this meeting. McCutchen is a legend with the Pirates, and he came back to Pittsburgh to 2023.
According to everything that came out during the year, the two teams were happy with their relationship and thought McCutchen would play for the Buccaneers for the rest of his career.
The club seemed to want to wait a bit for things official since Cutch tore a portion of his Achilles to September, but news from last week suggested that talks between the two sides began to move faster.
McCutchen, who is 37 years old, isn’t quite the MVP-winning player he used to be, but he can still hit the ball.
He agreed to play for the Pirates again for one year and $5 million in 2023. In that time, he hit twelve doubles and walked 15.9% of the time.
With a wRC+ of 115, his batting line of.256/.378/.397 meant he was 15% above the average player in the league. He was still pretty good at running the bases, too. In 14 tries, he stole 11 bases.
On defense, he mostly played as a designated hitter and only played right field for 64 2/3 innings.
He is expected to have the same role this year since he came back on the similar $5 million deal he signed last year.
The Pirates will probably be happy with a similar showing, but they also signed McCutchen to be a leader and an experienced player, and because fans love him.
It looks like Jack Suwinski and Bryan Reynolds will be able to lock down two everyday outfield spots.
Ethan Olivares, Joshua Palacios, Connor Joe, and others should be competing for playing time in one corner. McCutchen may jog out to the grass every once in a while, though.
McCutchen missed the last few weeks for the 2023 season because of the injury that ended his season.
His last game was on September 4. He hit 299 home runs so far this season, but that kept from hitting his 300th during the season.
But he should have plenty of chances to reach that goal next year, and he will do so in a Pirates jersey, as it should be.
From 2009 to 2017, McCutchen made the All-Star five times. In 2012, he won the Gold Glove award, and in 2013, he was named the NC League MVP.
McCutchen’s best years happened during the last competitive time for the club. Their last trip to the playoffs was in 2015. They made it three years in a row, but not since then.
They had a good season in 2023, with a record of 76–86, which was still below.500 but their best place since 2018.
The young core of the team could be a nice link between the two eras during baseball in Pittsburgh if they can take steps forward and make it back to the playoffs.
The five-time All-Star and NL MVP in 2013 hit a home run. 256, with 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, 55 runs, and 11 stolen bases to 112 games last year, mostly as a center fielder.
He also gives the show an experienced voice and knows what it’s such as to win in Pittsburgh, having led the team to three straight playoff appearances from 2013 to 2015.
The Pirates think that Cherington’s work to change the whole team, which he started four years ago, is almost done.
McCutchen tore part of the Achilles tendon at his left foot on September 4. Earlier in the season, he had more than 2,000 hits and an on-base percentage of.378.
He probably won’t be playing in the outfield anymore. A few games in the beginning of 2023, he played in right field. After that, he only played designated hitter.
With McCutchen’s familiar No. 22 back on the team, the Pirates did better on the field and at the gate.
They went 76–86, which is 15 games better than the previous season. Before last season, there were an average of 20,131 people at PNC Park. This was more than 4,500 more than the average in 2022.
Recently, Pittsburgh added a number of experienced players during the summer. Left-handed starting pitchers Martin Perez along with Marco Gonzales joined the team, and first baseman Rowdy Tellez was signed.
“Only a few pieces left,” Tellez said on Monday. “I just want to be over there and help out in any way I can, and merely be a veteran guy that they can turn to, talk to, be around, and help them score as many games as I can.”