Andrew McCutchen is officially a member of the Texas Rangers organization. On Friday, the Rangers announced that he signed a minor league deal with them that includes an invitation to spring training.

The Pittsburgh Pirates could have brought him back and had all offseason to do so, but they chose not to. In their defense, they upgraded their DH spot considerably by signing Marcell Ozuna, who’s four years younger than McCutchen and a significantly better hitter at this stage of their careers.

While Ozuna should replace McCutchen’s production and then some, it will be much harder to replace the latter’s leadership, intangibles and clubhouse presence.

Accordingly, the “Foul Territory” crew believes the Pirates didn’t properly value their franchise legend and should have re-signed him this winter.

The Pirates don’t see the proper value in Andrew McCutchen.

“Think about how good Konnor Griffin could be if he had him in the dugout talking to him. That’s invaluable.” pic.twitter.com/dU9GH7yHWf

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 5, 2026

“He gives you professional at-bats all the time,” said former catcher A.J. Pierzynski. “He can teach some of your younger kids. Think about how good Konnor Griffin could be if he could watch Andrew McCutchen’s at-bats, and he could have Andrew McCutchen in the dugout talking to him about pitchers…situations…how to be a big leaguer. It’s invaluable.”

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Former catcher Eric Kratz agreed.

“That’s the issue, A.J. The issue is they don’t see the value in that,” Kratz said. “I don’t think teams necessarily see the value in something that you just said is invaluable…I think Andrew McCutchen pays dividends way more down the road…I just think the value is so much greater to have a guy like that on the roster.”

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Those are fair points. It’s unfortunate that Griffin and Pittsburgh’s other young stars won’t have McCutchen as a mentor and a resource this year. Even if his production continued to fade, he at least could have supported them and aided their development.

More Pirates: Pirates Wish Franchise Legend Luck With New Team

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