{"id":537412,"date":"2026-01-25T09:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T09:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/537412\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T09:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T09:24:15","slug":"andrew-mccutchen-claps-back-at-fans-for-urging-pittsburgh-pirates-to-move-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/537412\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew McCutchen claps back at fans for urging Pittsburgh Pirates to move on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew McCutchen claps back at fans for urging Pittsburgh Pirates to move on<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Andrew McCutchen<\/a> may not have been physically present at PiratesFest on Saturday, but his voice was impossible to ignore<\/a>. As questions swirled about his future with the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a>, the longtime franchise cornerstone took to social media to push back against growing sentiment<\/a> that the organization and its fans should move on.<\/p>\n

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Over the past week, McCutchen has grown increasingly vocal on social media, sharing posts that reflect both his desire to return and his belief that he still has more to give. Near midnight Saturday, he delivered his strongest message yet<\/a>, drawing comparisons to other iconic players who retired with their longtime teams. McCutchen also sent a clear message about the situation being larger than mere empty debates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder, did the Cards do this Wainwright\/Pujols\/Yadi? Dodgers to Kershaw? Tigers to Miggy? The list goes on and on,\u201d McCutchen wrote on X, formerly Twitter. \u201cIf this is my last year, it would have been nice to meet the fans one last time as a player. Talk to them about my appreciation for them over the years. Shake that little kids hand or hug the fan that\u2019s been a fan since Clemente. You see, this is bigger than baseball! Bigger than looking at a 40-man roster and cherry picking numbers that fit your agenda or prove why your opinion matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCutchen didn\u2019t just frame the situation as a roster decision; he framed it as a relationship between a city, its fans, and a player who has spent two decades representing Pittsburgh. He went on to challenge narratives surrounding his age and role, and ended his message with a defiant reminder that his story isn\u2019t finished yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fans deserved at the very least to get that opportunity,\u201d McCutchen added. \u201cIdk what the future holds for me at the present moment, but what I do know is though I am 39, on the backend of my career, I still work every day to be better than I was the year before\u2026There\u2019s more work to do and I\u2019m not done, no matter what label to you try to stamp on me. Rip the jersey off of me. You don\u2019t get to write my future, God does.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The veteran\u2019s frustration boiled over after Pirates GM Ben Cherington addressed his free-agent status. While Cherington praised McCutchen\u2019s legacy and importance to the organization, he stopped short of committing to bringing the 39-year-old back for the 2026 season. And, the question remains large<\/a> whether sentiment, leadership, and legacy will factor into the final decision.<\/p>\n

Related: How not understanding the word can\u2019t led Pirates\u2019 Paul Skenes to Cy Young win<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: The Pirates shortstop named MLB\u2019s top prospect<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew McCutchen claps back at fans for urging Pittsburgh Pirates to move on appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1151,5,6547,39,10409,4,64],"class_list":{"0":"post-537412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-andrew-mccutchen","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-ben-cherington","11":"tag-dodgers","12":"tag-kershaw","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115955018831153279","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}