PITTSBURGH — It was a late June game at PNC Park. Andrew McCutchen, in his first season playing in Pittsburgh since 2017, was enjoying a renaissance, the pieces of his return clicking into place. The most popular Pirate in decades was also a trade candidate, having attracted interest from the Texas Rangers and likely other MLB clubs.
As McCutchen dipped back into an empty and quiet clubhouse following the national anthem, he bumped into Bob Nutting, who delivered an impromptu message. Nutting reinforced to McCutchen that the trade talk was a non-factor. The Pirates owner then went a step further and publicly dismissed the idea himself.
“Andrew should stay a Pirate as long as he wants to,” Nutting said a few days later when approached by the Post-Gazette in the service tunnel at PNC Park.
That meeting set the stage for the latest chapter in McCutchen’s Pirates tenure, as multiple sources told the Post-Gazette on Tuesday that the club has signed him to another one-year, $5 million deal, pending a physical.
The team is expected to formally announce the deal as early as Wednesday, and for a few different reasons, it’s absolutely the right move. It’s also possible — if not likely — that it will upstaged soon by something bigger.
The most likely outcome is a trade. The goal is to address the starting rotation in 2024 and beyond.
As far as McCutchen, though, the calculus was simple, even though we could’ve discussed things like playing the outfield, rotating the designated hitter spot or the approach at the plate that the 37-year-old employed this past season.
It’s Andrew McCutchen.
Given what he represents to generations of Pirates fans, they simply couldn’t let his last home game at PNC Park be one where he limped off the field, having suffered a partially torn Achilles while stuck on 299 home runs.
McCutchen deserves better. He has earned the chance to rehab and run it back and potentially reach 300 homers at home. After producing a .776 OPS in 112 games this past season, flirting with a potential All-Star nod given his terrific first half, McCutchen deserves to go out on his terms.
Not that this contract means 2024 will be McCutchen’s last season. He’s certainly not looking at it that way. It’s doubtful the team is, either. Obviously injuries and health matter, but this contract was signed so McCutchen could do more than take a victory lap.
The Pirates want him to be a leader and set an example for a young team, demonstrating what it means to be a good person, produce on the field and connect with a fan base, an art for McCutchen over the years.
They also want his offense — a .378 on-base percentage, plus 19 doubles, 12 homers, 43 RBIs, 55 runs scored and 11 steals — which looked markedly better before injuries became a factor.
At one point around early July, McCutchen was hitting .282 with an .843 OPS, reaching base in 23 of 24 games. He collected his 2,000th MLB hit on June 11 against the Mets and could experience a similar type of moment when he gets to 300 homers.
If McCutchen can stay healthy, which obviously was not the case in 2023, we saw the possibilities over the first three months or so. It would also help if he could play some outfield to give Bryan Reynolds a break and create some flexibility at DH.
Battling elbow and knee injuries before his season ended early due to a partially torn left Achilles, McCutchen was limited to just eight games in the outfield in 2023, seven of them starts.
McCutchen, who hit .256 and had an OPS+ of 113 (his best since 2019), was hurt while legging out a double on Sept. 4. His recovery has progressed nicely in recent weeks, to the point where he has returned to mostly normal offseason work when it comes to hitting, throwing and running.
As of now, the Pirates’ opening day lineup could include Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, McCutchen, Rowdy Tellez, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jack Suwinski and Henry Davis, plus potentially Jared Triolo at second base or right field or Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero or Ji Hwan Bae locking down a spot.
Suwinski could shift to right if Bae emerges. Connor Joe or Joshua Palacios are depth options. Edward Olivares has shown flashes of power. But there’s also uncertainty because the Pirates likely aren’t done, sources said.
They’d like to potentially invert what they’ve done the past few years and funnel the value of several players into one, perhaps acquiring a pitcher with years of club control.
After trading for Marco Gonzales and signing Martin Perez via free agency, the Pirates have taken some initial steps to address their pitching deficiency. But they’re also aware it’s not enough.
If you think about it, the bigger goal feels a bit like a throwback.
They added McCutchen, an important move spurred by that pregame meeting with Nutting and subsequent conversations with general manager Ben Cherington.
But the bigger key for team success will be for the Pirates to keep going, acquire more pitching and improve the group around McCutchen.