After playing for four different teams in six Major League Baseball seasons, center field Andrew McCutchen returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. He will extend his stay in Steel City after reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. While the Pirates did not confirm the news, they posted this tweet of McCutchen walking down PNC Park’s player tunnel.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 19, 2023
The Florida native rose to baseball prominence after the Pirates selected him in the first round of the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft. Four years later, he made his Major League debut. He finished fourth in the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year voting after tallying a .286 batting average, 54 runs batted in, and 12 home runs in 433 at-bats.
However, he has just begun as he earned his first of five consecutive MLB All-Star appearances in 2011. A year later, he also won his first of four Silver Slugger awards after hitting .327/.400/.553 with 96 RBIs, 31 homers, and an NL-leading 194 hits. McCutchen also earned a Gold Glove award in 2012.
He became the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player after hitting .317/.404/.508 with 84 RBIs and 185 hits. In 2014, he led the league in on-base percentage (.410) and the National League in on-base/slugging percentage (.952).
2015 was the last time McCutchen earned MVP votes, a Silver Slugger Award, and an All-Star selection. After spending his first nine MLB seasons with Pittsburgh, the Pirates traded him to the San Francisco Giants in January 2018. Seven months later, he was once against on the trading block to the New York Yankees.
The Philadelphia Phillies signed him to a three-year, $50 million contract in December 2018. After which, he signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2022 MLB season. He returned to Pittsburgh this year on a one-year, $5 million deal.
-Lance Fernandez