The Texas Rangers have signed veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a minor-league contract and invited him to Spring Training, the team announced on Friday.
McCutchen, 39, played with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2023 to 2025, his second stint with the franchise with which his career began. In 135 games last season, the 2013 NL MVP batted .239, hit 13 home runs and drove in 57 runs. It was the 17th straight season in which he finished with double-digit homers and the fourth season out of the past five that saw him record at least 50 RBI.
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While McCutchen can play in the outfield, he has primarily been used as a designated hitter since 2022. According to Baseball Reference, the five-time All-Star has played only 20 games in the outfield since the 2024 season.
As the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant points out, what might make the right-handed McCutchen an attractive option at DH for the Rangers is his .799 OPS against left-handed starters in 2025. Veteran righty Mark Canha has been in camp this spring and has four hits in 14 at-bats while serving as DH. Joc Pederson, a lefty, is also on the roster and coming off a season in which he batted .181 in 96 games, with only 9 home runs, 26 RBI and a .614 OPS.
Andrew McCutchen played the past three MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s now looking to make the Texas Rangers as a designated hitter. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
(Brett Davis via Getty Images)
Should he make the team, the Rangers would be McCutchen’s sixth MLB franchise. After beginning his career with the Pirates in 2009, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2018 and dealt again later that season to the New York Yankees. He then signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Milwaukee Brewers were his next stop in 2022 before he returned to Pittsburgh ahead of the 2023 season.
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McCutchen has played 2,262 career MLB games and has 332 home runs and 1,152 RBI.
The four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, 2012 Gold Glove winner and recipient of the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award said at the end of last season that he wanted to continue playing, even if it wasn’t in Pittsburgh — though he noted he wanted to retire as a Pirate.
“That’s the goal,” McCutchen said in September. “I’m not necessarily just here to be here. It would be good to have that opportunity, but we’ll pass that bridge when we get there.”