Andrew McCutchen Staying With Pirates After Signing Another One-Year Deal
The worst-kept secret in baseball is finally out: Andrew McCutchen is returning for an 11th season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On Wednesday, McCutchen finalized a new one-year deal with the franchise that selected him 11th overall in 2005, paving the way for his 16th career big-league season. He returned to the organization last season following a five-year departure.
McCutchen’s contract will reportedly be worth $5 million, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, just as his previous one was.
The 37-year-old’s heartfelt return to Pittsburgh was one of last season’s most touching stories, especially the tear-jerking applause he received in his first game back at PNC Park last April. But his second stint didn’t end on a positive note, as a partial tear in his left Achilles ended his campaign prematurely.
Prior to that point, McCutchen had been among the club’s most productive hitters, slashing .256/.378/.397 with 12 home runs, 43 RBIs and a 115 wRC+ over 112 games, worth 1.2 fWAR. He also earned a 15.9% walk rate, the second-highest of his career.
“In every discussion with Andrew, it was clear we both shared the same strong desire for him to remain a Pirate,” Chairman Bob Nutting said in a press release on Wednesday. “He is a tremendous person, player and teammate. He is an all-time great Pirates player who represents our city with a deep sense of pride. His presence in our lineup and our clubhouse has had a significant impact on our young team.”
“The way he plays the game on the field and carries himself in the community will continue to make all of us in the organization better.”
The Pirates primarily deployed McCutchen as a DH in 2023, limiting the franchise icon to a career-low 64.2 innings in the outfield. But if he stays relatively healthy next season, there could be an opportunity for an increased role in the field.
McCutchen, who shared his excitement about returning to the Pirates for another season on X, formerly Twitter, surpassed the 2,000-hit mark a season ago. When he takes the field in 2024, he’ll sit just one home run shy of 300 for his career.
The 2013 National League MVP enjoyed a resurgent three-month stretch out of the gate last season, posting 10 home runs, 28 RBIs and a .287/.399/.455 slash line over his first 70 games, resulting in an eye-popping 133 wRC+.
That impressive start, however, came to a screeching halt near the All-Star break as a case of right elbow inflammation flared up. And his results never seemed to recover, as he posted an 86 wRC+ across his final 42 contests before injuring his Achilles.
But despite a less-than-desirable finish to the 2023 season, there was never any doubt about McCutchen returning for at least one more year.
“I had to ask myself those questions of, ‘What’s important? What do I want to do?’” McCutchen told reporters last September. “For me, I’m not going to go out like this. I want to continue to keep playing and push through this, let this heal and be ready to go for 2024.”
And push through, he shall.
Though it’s unclear if McCutchen will be fully recovered by spring training, which is just eight weeks away, the Pirates’ outfield depth already consists of Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Joshua Palacios, Edward Olivares, Ji Hwan Bae, Connor Joe and Henry Davis.
Whenever the five-time All-Star returns to action, he’ll aim to climb the franchise’s all-time leaderboard even further, as he sits fourth in home runs (215), ninth in RBIs (768) and fWAR (47.1), 11th in games played (1,458) and 12th in hits (1,563).
For the Pirates, next on their off-season checklist will likely involve adding additional star power to a starting rotation that welcomed veterans Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez via free agency earlier this winter.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.