Outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen has seemingly been reinvigorated by a return to the Pirates in recent times and he doesn’t plan on stopping. “In my thoughts, this isn’t my final yr,” McCutchen mentioned to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Submit-Gazette. “So long as my physique holds up and I’m not embarrassing myself on the market, I wanna maintain going.”
McCutchen, now 37, has spent most of his profession as a Pirate. He was drafted by Pittsburgh again in 2005 and went on to rack up enormous accolades from his 2009 main league debut via the tip of the 2017 season. In that point, he hit 203 dwelling runs and slashed .291/.379/.487 for a 137 wRC+. He additionally stole 171 bases whereas serving because the membership’s common heart fielder. He was an All-Star 5 occasions in that stretch and was the Nationwide League MVP in 2013, the primary of three straight years during which he guided the Bucs to the postseason.
The membership then slipped from rivalry for a couple of years and traded the ultimate season of McCutchen’s contract to the Giants and he would bounce to the Yankees, Phillies and Brewers for a couple of seasons. With Milwaukee in 2022, he hit simply .237/.316/.384 for a wRC+ of 98 in his age-35 season.
He returned to Pittsburgh in 2023 through a one-year, $5MM deal. Given the downward development of his efficiency, some anticipated his return to PNC Park to be little greater than a feel-good story for a rebuilding membership with little to cheer for in recent times.
However as talked about, the reunion has coincided with a pleasant bounceback for the veteran. That’s to not say that he’s again to MVP ranges however he was capable of slash .256/.378/.397 final yr, adequate for a 115 wRC+. He and the Bucs then doubled down, reuniting on one other one-year, $5MM deal. To emphasise that McCutchen is dedicated to persevering with his taking part in profession, Mackey relays that he really lobbied for a multi-year deal this offseason. Nevertheless, the Bucs had a little bit of hesitation because the 2023 season ended with McCutchen on the injured listing on account of a partial tear of his left Achilles tendon.
That harm appears to be lengthy forgotten, as McCutchen has been again in good kind right here in 2024. He already has ten dwelling runs, simply two shy of final yr’s whole, and is hitting .241/.338/.401 for a wRC+ of 112.
With the outcomes nonetheless coming, it’s completely comprehensible that he desires to maintain issues rolling. Mackey suggests there’s a minimum of some hesitation on the membership’s half, as they might favor to have the designated hitter slot open so as to rotate different gamers via. McCutchen has performed 20 innings in proper discipline this yr however has in any other case been within the DH slot. Although Mackey additionally reminds readers that proprietor Bob Nutting has mentioned McCutchen can keep a Pirate so long as he desires.
There could come a time when the targets of the franchise conflict with these of McCutchen as a person. He mentioned a number of occasions in 2023 that he didn’t intend on taking part in for one more membership for the remainder of his profession. The Bucs are regularly creeping out of its lengthy rebuild, as they hovered across the Wild Card race final yr and are doing so once more this yr. However for now, he’s a key a part of the rationale why they’re competing, as his 112 wRC+ is second on the crew amongst certified hitters, trailing solely Bryan Reynolds.
