Andrew McCutchen is coming home again. The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Monday they’re bringing back their beloved star outfielder for another season with a simple three-word tweet: “Source: He’s back.”
At 38, McCutchen isn’t slowing down much. He smacked 20 home runs in 120 games for the Pirates last year, hitting .232 with a solid on-base percentage of .328.
Those numbers might not jump off the page, but they tell just part of the story of one of Pittsburgh’s greatest players ever.
McCutchen’s journey with the Pirates started back in 2005 when they drafted him straight out of high school in Florida with the 11th overall pick. What followed was pure magic for Pittsburgh baseball fans.
He became the face of the franchise during the Pirates’ golden years from 2013-15, leading them to three straight playoff appearances. In 2013, he was named National League MVP, one of his five All-Star seasons with the team.
The stats tell an impressive story: 319 career home runs, 219 stolen bases, and a career OPS+ of 126 – meaning he’s been 26% better than the average player over his 16 seasons.
But numbers don’t capture what Cutch means to Pittsburgh.
He’s spent 11 of those 16 seasons with the Pirates, though there were stops with the Giants, Yankees, Phillies, and Brewers after Pittsburgh traded him in late 2018. The homecoming started in 2023, and now it’ll continue for a third straight year.
McCutchen’s 42.7 WAR with the Pirates puts him 12th all-time in franchise history. He’ll have a chance to climb even higher on that list as he helps a young Pirates team trying to break out of their funk – they went 76-86 last year and haven’t had a winning season in nine years.
For Pittsburgh fans, though, just seeing number 22 back in the black and gold is enough reason to smile.
