For a player who carried the organization through its darkest stretch, restored pride to PNC Park, and helped usher in the last era of postseason baseball in Pittsburgh, this is painful to see. As the Pirates push toward relevance, the way they’ve treated McCutchen this winter has cast a shadow over what should be one of the most hopeful offseasons in recent memory.
Evaluating the Situation
In order to truly grasp why this situation has unfolded in the way it has, we have to take a look at the bigger picture and what the Pirates needed to do this winter. After fielding an offense that posted a team wRC+ of just 82 with 117 homers as a group, the number one priority was improving the offense in any way possible.
Since the beginning of the offseason, the Pirates expressed that they were casting a wide net in order to improve. Whether it was trying to chase down big-time free agents such as Kyle Schwarber or making much smaller deals that could net an impactful return, they didn’t set any constraints for themselves.
With this being the organizational motto, they did just that. The Pirates acquired multiple significant bats via trade and free agency, not putting position over production along the way. However, in the process, it became more and more difficult to see a reality for Andrew McCutchen to return to the club.
It’s important to note that McCutchen was far from a bad hitter last season, but he wasn’t good, either. In 135 games, he blasted 13 homers and slashed .239/.333/.367 with a 95 wRC+. This production is certainly still big league-caliber, but it isn’t good enough for an everyday role on a team that’s looking for an offensive overhaul.
The other issue with McCutchen’s production is that he spent 120 of his 135 games at the designated hitter position, a role he’s almost exclusively played since he returned to Pittsburgh.
Among all qualified designated hitters last season, McCutchen finished 22nd out of 23 hitters in wRC+ and homers, just barely edging out the last-place finishers in both numbers. In fact, of these 23 hitters, McCutchen and Agustin Ramirez were the only two hitters to finish with a wRC+ under 100, which speaks to the little production the Pirates were getting from their franchise icon.
Despite this, McCutchen does do some things quite well. He’s still elite at drawing walks and limiting his chases, but it’s slim pickings outside of that. He posted league-average metrics across the board aside from these two areas.