Andrew McCutchen’s future with the Pirates has been up in the air all offseason, and the franchise icon has become more vocal about it on social media as Spring Training nears.
The most direct message came late Saturday night, with McCutchen expressing disappointment that he was not at this year’s PiratesFest, which was held earlier in the day, as well as a desire to keep playing, writing “rip the jersey off of me.”
The absence of McCutchen, currently a free agent, was noticed and directly addressed at PiratesFest. During the “Ask Management” segment, general manager Ben Cherington was asked where things stand between the team and McCutchen, with emcee Greg Brown summarizing several pre-submitted questions from fans as the basis for the inquiry.
“Part of the great thing about Pittsburgh, all of you baseball fans in Pittsburgh, is how strongly you feel about the people that have meant a lot to the team,” Cherington answered to the crowd. “Andrew has meant a ton to the team. He’s had an incredible run, in two different times with the Pirates. Certainly his legacy as a Pirate is secure, and our desire – everybody at the Pirates would desire – to have him maintain a really good relationship with Andrew well into the future.
“And then we come back to our [current] team. What is the job? The job is to build a team that gives us the best chance to be winning games when you’re in the ballpark in June and July, and that’s where I see that passion come out. That’s ultimately what our job is and what we aim to do. And so our approach this offseason has been laser-focused on what gives us the best chance to win more baseball games in Pittsburgh than we have in the past seasons. That’s going to continue to guide our decisions.
“So much respect for Andrew. That relationship is really important to us, and we’ll continue to communicate with him, directly, as the team comes together. We have more work to do.”
While that answer may not have been the most encouraging for a reunion, it did seemingly leave the door open. It also came on the heels of several posts by McCutchen on X. On Jan. 17, he posted a GIF of a man checking a phone that has not rung as a response to former teammate and current SportsNet broadcaster Michael McKenry voicing support for McCutchen to re-sign. On Jan. 19, he pushed back against the opinion that he can’t play defense at this stage of his career.
Saturday night’s post, which quoted a post from a local media member opining off of Cherington’s comments, didn’t leave much ambiguity.
“I wonder, did the Cards do this [to Adam] Wainwright/ [Albert] Pujols/Yadi [Yadier Molina]?” McCutchen posted to X. “Dodgers to [Clayton] Kershaw? Tigers to Miggy [Miguel Cabrera]? The list goes on and on.
“If 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 kid’s hand or hug the fan that’s been a fan since [Roberto] 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. The fans deserved at the very least to get that opportunity.
“IDK [I don’t know] 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. If there wasn’t a burning desire to continue this journey, I would be home surrounded by my family, in which no one would judge or be surprised.
“But not yet. There’s more work to do and I’m not done, no matter what label you try to stamp on me. Rip the jersey off of me. You don’t get to write my future. God does.”
McCutchen returned for his second stint with the Pirates ahead of the 2023 season, being used almost exclusively as a designated hitter. The Pirates acquired 2025 All-Stars Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe this offseason, and with Spencer Horwitz returning, there does not appear to be much playing time available at DH this year, though all three of those players bat left-handed. McCutchen has played just 20 games in the field the past three seasons.
McCutchen — the 2013 National League MVP and a five-time All-Star who has spent 12 of his 17 MLB seasons with the Pirates — expressed multiple times last year that he wanted to continue playing in 2026. Based on his recent posts, it seems safe to assume that is still the case.
