Andrew McCutchen has made it clear that he wants to keep playing in 2026. He’s also made it clear in the past that ultimately he wants to stay home and retire as a Pittsburgh Pirate.
But after a third year
of not even being relatively close to playing meaningful baseball in September and no baseball in October, he has to reconsider how he wants to end his career. Not because he wants to, but because the Pirates front office lackluster offseasons leave him no choice.
McCutchen reflected on the season in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“From a team standpoint, I feel like we’re beating the same drum,” McCutchen said. “Third year back, kind of feels the same just from an instance of where we are. It just leads me to think, like, what’s the plan moving forward, and what is it gonna look like next season?”
“…If we just sit here back and — say we show up with the same team next year — we’re going to get the same results.”
There is no plan, and it will look pretty much the same. Deep down, Cutch knows it. If the Pirates surprise us, or if McCutchen talks himself into believing that things are different with the Pirates roster, then he’ll probably return.
“I see something in this team, and a lot of people do,” McCutchen said. “If this was a team that wasn’t very good and I was looking at it again like, ‘I don’t see it,’ I’m probably home. I’m probably just packing it up and just — what’s the point of putting me and my family through this? But ultimately, I do feel like this is a good team.”
But another essential part of the equation is from the Pirates’ point of view. If Cherington is for real about making this team better, and is even more limited with payroll, is giving McCutchen another $5 million a wise decision?
McCutchen is an average hitter who can’t play every day (or in the field) and shouldn’t be at his age. But in this lineup, by default, he’s still one of the top hitters on the team. That is not a formula for sustained success.
And DH is supposed to be a premium power position, which makes Cutch somewhat of a liability for a team that has no power at all. If the Pirates want to invest in making this lineup more powerful and deeper, can McCutchen be paid and be just a depth piece/lower in the order? I doubt it.
“I’d just love to be a part of that winning,” McCutchen said. “Hopefully, [I’ll] get that opportunity to have that again. And I do feel like it’s possible. If it wasn’t possible, I don’t think I’d be doing it.
“Maybe I doubt the Pirates would even bring me back. I think it’s there.”
