B/R
Andrew McCutchen is returning for a 12th season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The former NL MVP agreed to a new contract that will keep him in Pittsburgh, with Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reporting the two sides agreed to a one-year deal worth $5 million.
Pittsburgh Pirates @Pirates
Source: He’s back. pic.twitter.com/I2FqZJA2l9
Andrew McCutchen @TheCUTCH22
McCutchen played the 2024 season on his second consecutive one-year deal with the Pirates.
While serving mostly as the Pirates’ designated hitter, McCutchen slashed .232/.328/.411 for 50 RBI in 120 appearances.
McCutchen recorded 20 home runs, his highest total since 2021, while also marking career-high strikeout rate of 25.8 percent.
Formerly a first-round pick by the Pirates in the 2005 draft, McCutchen spent parts of 10 seasons in Pittsburgh to start out his MLB career.
He went on to play stints with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers before returning to the Pirates ahead of the 2023 season.
McCutchen recorded the most productive seasons of his career at center field, including his four straight Silver Slugger campaigns between 2012 and 2014 and his MVP campaign in 2013.
Now the five-time All-Star, who turned 38 in October, has remained productive as a designated hitter. The Pirates have further assisted by providing pinch runners or using him as a pinch hitter in his most recent seasons in Pittsburgh.
Last season McCutchen passed Tommy Leach to reach No. 9 on the team’s all-time leaderboards with 1,578 games played and 6,817 plate appearances.
The Pirates will now hope for continued production and fewer strikeouts from this Pittsburgh fan favorite as he looks to return as the team’s go-to DH next spring.
The return of McCutchen will narrow the potential options for former No. 1 pick Henry Davis, who focused only on catching and designated hitting during the 2024 season. With McCutchen returning, potentially as the designated hitter, it looks like the Pirates will need to slot Davis in behind the plate to get him his next MLB stint in 2025.
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