Could there be one final ride for Andrew McCutchen in the black and gold? It depends on who you ask.
MLB.com Pirates reporter Alex Stumpf said earlier this week that he’s not expecting McCutchen to play for the Pirates next season.
There is frustration on both sides, and McCutchen was notably uncertain of his future when asked late in September. It seemed these three years with the team he was drafted by was going to be it.
McCutchen responded to North Shore Nine’s tweet of Stumpf’s response.
“Wow that’s news to me,” McCutchen wrote.
McCutchen hit .239 with 22 doubles, 13 home runs, and 57 RBIs in 135 games last season. The 17-year veteran has played 12 years in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports enterprise reporter Noah Hiles said on Foul Territory that it seems “less likely,” but that a deal can be made if both sides put aside their differences.
McCutchen only played seven games in the outfield last season and, at 39 years old, can only play in a designated hitter role.
The 2013 NL MVP, five-time All-Star, and four-time Silver Slugger winner owns 248 home runs and 875 RBIs in 12 years as a Pirate. The organization has been adamant that it wants to improve the offense around Paul Skenes.
Will McCutchen be a part of it? McCutchen is not ruling out one final ride to get back to the playoffs and finally get the Pirates over the hump, not winning a playoff series since winning the World Series 46 years ago in 1979.