9:05am: The Pirates are in agreement with veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, per the team’s social media account. The deal came together this morning. MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Andrew Destin were the first to report the terms of the contract: it’s a one-year deal that guarantees McCutchen $5MM.

McCutchen, 38, returns to Pittsburgh for his 12th season with the club and 17th season in the majors. Selected by the Pirates eleventh overall in the 2005 draft, McCutchen debuted with the club in 2009 and quickly established himself as a franchise player. He was the face of the Pirates throughout the 2010s until he was traded to the Giants prior to the 2018 season, and enjoyed an otherworldly five-year run in Pittsburgh where he slashed .302/.396/.509 (151 wRC+) en route to an MVP award, four Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, and five All-Star appearances.

In his five seasons away from the Pirates, McCutchen was no longer the impactful bat he was at his peak but nonetheless remained a solid, steadying presence in the lineup for the Giants, Yankees, Phillies, and Brewers. In 549 games for those clubs from 2018 to 2022, McCutchen hit a respectable .242/.343/.423 with a 110 wRC+. While he lacked the consistent power and high batting averages of his days in Pittsburgh, the veteran still provided value by getting on base at a strong clip thanks to a fantastic 12.7% walk rate during that span.

After the first below-average offensive season of his career with Milwaukee in 2022, he returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year, $5MM contract prior to 2023. He’s since signed identical contracts in the 2023-24 and now the 2024-25 offseasons, and the year-to-year arrangement seems to be working out quite well for both sides as the Pirates inch closer to a return to contention for the first time since McCutchen’s first stint with the team came to an end. Meanwhile, McCutchen has continued to age gracefully with solid production as the club’s regular DH over the past two seasons. His overall numbers in that time are remarkably similar to the five years he spent playing for other clubs, as he’s hit .243/.352/.403 with a wRC+ of 110. Since returning home to Pittsburgh, McCutchen has also reached a number of impressive career milestones including 2,000 hits, 1,000 walks, and 300 home runs.

Looking ahead to 2025, McCutchen figures to provide the Pirates with his typical steady production at DH. It’s the club’s second major move of the offseason after swapping Luis Ortiz to the Guardians in order to land Spencer Horwitz. McCutchen and Horwitz by themselves aren’t likely to dramatically alter an offense that finished third from the bottom in wRC+ with a figure of 86 that bested only the Rockies and White Sox, but there’s reason to believe the club plans to make additional moves as the offseason continues. Previous reports have connected the club to the corner outfield and bullpen markets this winter, and plenty of interesting players remain available in free agency and on the trade market at those positions. While the Pirates are hardly ever particularly big spenders, the club’s $79MM payroll projection for 2025 from RosterResource is $8MM below the club’s 2024 payroll, suggesting that there’s at least some room for additional moves even after bringing back McCutchen.

Comments this week from both McCutchen and general manager Ben Cherington point toward the former MVP eventually returning for a 12th season. In June, the 37-year-old told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he planned to continue playing. McCutchen restated those intentions in a chat with the beat on Tuesday (link via Alex Stumpf of MLB.com). This morning, Cherington confirmed the Pirates hope to keep him around.

“He’s proving again this year that he can hit and hit at a level that helps us win games,” the GM told reporters (link via Noah Hiles of the Post-Gazette). “I would just repeat what I said before. We would love to find a way for Andrew to finish his career in a Pirates uniform. Glad he feels good, feels like he can still do that and still play. As I did last year, as we get to the end of the season, we’ll have a conversation with Andrew after the season’s over.”

This is indeed how things played out last fall. McCutchen had returned to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal over the 2022-23 offseason. In early October, Cherington said the sides would talk about a new contract over the winter. It took until December, but the parties eventually hammered out a $5MM deal for 2024.

As he did in 2023, Cutch has performed well offensively. He’s reached the 20-homer threshold for the first time in three seasons. He’s hitting .241/.338/.432 in 470 plate appearances. His strikeout and walk rates have each gone in the wrong direction, but he’s hitting for more power than he did last season.

By measure of wRC+, McCutchen has been 14 percentage points above league average offensively for a second straight year. That’s second on the team behind Bryan Reynolds among those with 300+ plate appearances. Reynolds, McCutchen, Oneil Cruz and Joey Bart (the latter of whom has 232 PAs) have been the only above-average hitters in the Pittsburgh lineup.

The five-time All-Star is almost exclusively a designated hitter. McCutchen has started two games in right field. His 102 other appearances have come as a DH. That limits the team’s flexibility. McCutchen is fifth in MLB in plate appearances as a designated hitter. The four players ahead of him — Shohei Ohtani, Marcell Ozuna, Kyle Schwarber and Brent Rooker — have each hit 30+ homers. McCutchen isn’t going to provide that level of production at this stage of his career, but he’s still one of the more potent bats in a Pittsburgh lineup that needs to be more effective. There’s a simple case for bringing him back even before considering McCutchen’s locker room presence and his iconic status within the organization.

It’d likely be another one-year deal. McCutchen has signed for $5MM in each of the last two offseasons. He’d be justified in seeking a modest pay bump this time around. When he signed after the 2022 season, he was coming off the only below-average offensive showing of his career. He’d bounced back last year, but the reunion was cut short by a partial tear of his left Achilles in September. He’s trending towards a healthy finish in 2024. That could push his salary up by a couple million dollars, though it’s fair to assume he’s more concerned with staying in Pittsburgh than he is about maximizing his earning power.

Some space in the Cardinals’ outfield was cleared for Walker when Tommy Pham was designated for assignment, a day after the team first put Pham on irrevocable waivers.  Woo writes that Pham welcomed the news and had even discussed such a move with the Cards, as he’ll now have a chance at more regular playing time on another team.  If he joins another club before Sunday, Pham will also be eligible for that new club’s postseason roster.

More from the NL Central…

• Reds manager David Bell updated MLB.com and other media on the status of a pair of injured starters, as Hunter Greene has started playing catch and Andrew Abbott is expected to start a throwing program next week.  Greene hasn’t pitched since August 13 due to right elbow inflammation and there were concerns last week that his season could be over, but Bell indicated that Greene is aiming to return before the year is out.  Abbott is also planning to pitch again in 2024, even though Bell said the left-hander is still feeling “a pinch” in his bothersome shoulder.  Abbott has been sidelined since August 20 due to a shoulder strain.  Since Cincinnati has fallen out of the playoff race, it stands to reason that either or both Greene or Abbott could be shut down at the first hint of a setback, but naturally both pitchers would prefer to keep playing and try to finish on a high note.
• Andrew McCutchen was activated from the Pirates’ 10-day injured list yesterday, as the franchise icon returned after missing two weeks due to left knee inflammation.  The franchise icon went 2-for-5 with a home run in Pittsburgh’s 10-8 loss to the Guardians, and McCutchen is now hitting .238/.337/.415 with 17 homers over 442 plate appearances in his 16th Major League season.  In the corresponding move to activate McCutchen, Pittsburgh placed right-hander Ben Heller on the 15-day IL due to inflammation in his right shoulder.

While there’s no truly good time for an injury, the knee problem arises at a particularly unfortunate juncture for McCutchen, as the veteran was in the midst of his hottest stretch of the season.  McCutchen has hit .281/.375/.483 with four home runs over his last 104 plate appearances, boosting his overall slash line to .235/.336/.405 in 437 PA.  That works out to an 109 wRC+ and yet another year of above-average production — now in his 16th MLB season, Cutch has only once dipped below the 100 wRC+ average threshold, as he slowed to a 97 wRC+ when playing with the Brewers in 2022.

Losing McCutchen to the IL is another blow to a reeling Pirates team.  The Bucs’ 5-3 win over the Mariners yesterday snapped a 10-game losing streak that all but ended the club’s chances of snagging an NL wild card berth.  Even that win was bittersweet due to McCutchen’s injury, which occurred while he was running to first base after hitting a single in the seventh inning.

Apart from handful of appearances in right field, the 37-year-old McCutchen has been utilized almost exclusively as a designated hitter over his two-season return to Pittsburgh.  The Pirates will probably just shuffle several players through the DH spot to try and make up for Cutch’s absence, while also giving more at-bats to some younger players in what has suddenly become another evaluation period during the team’s lengthy rebuild.  McCutchen can hopefully be back in short order to put a positive coda onto his season, and continue to set himself up for another contract in 2025.

That’s surely a relief for Pirates fans, as Pittsburgh will need every inning they can get from their young ace as they look to work their way into the playoff conversation. The Pirates currently sit at a decent 56-54 record after buying at the trade deadline. While they’re six games back of the Brewers for the NL Central crown as things stand, Pittsburgh sits just 2.5 games back in a crowded NL Wild Card picture that also features the Braves, Diamondbacks, Padres, Mets, and Cardinals. Skenes has been a huge part of the club’s resurgence this year, as the club has won nine of the 13 games he’s started for them since debuting in mid-May. Team record during a pitcher’s starts is an imperfect measure of that pitcher’s effectiveness, but it’s obvious that Skenes has helped the Pirates in a big way by posting a sparkling 1.90 ERA in 80 2/3 innings of work in the majors while striking out exactly one third of batters faced entering play today.

Skenes isn’t the only young arm that Cherington commented on, as he indicated that right-hander Jared Jones is “real close” to a rehab assignment at Triple-A following a 45-pitch live bullpen session. Cherington suggested that Jones’s first rehab outing is likely to be of a similar pitch count before moving up from there. Pittsburgh’s other front-of-the-rotation rookie has been on the 15-day IL since Independence Day due to a lat strain, but prior to that injury had looked excellent in his first season as a big leaguer with a 3.56 ERA and a 26.4% strikeout rate in 91 innings of work. Jones’s return to action should not only provide the club with a boost down the stretch, but would offer them a daunting and entirely homegrown playoff rotation alongside Skenes and Mitch Keller should the club manage to make the postseason for the first time since 2015.

While the news regarding Jones and Skenes is undoubtedly positive, a turn towards the lineup yields more mixed results. Veteran slugger Andrew McCutchen is out of today’s lineup after being pulled from yesterday’s game due what the team announced as tightness in his left quad muscle. It’s unclear as of yet whether or not the 37-year-old veteran will require a trip to the injured list due to the issue or not, but a lengthy absence for McCutchen would be a frustrating turn of events for a Pirates club that had just begun to fire on all cylinders in the lineup after adding Bryan De La Cruz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the trade deadline. The veteran, who has slashed a decent .228/.328/.383 with a 102 wRC+ as the club’s primary DH this year, could be replaced by Connor Joe or a youngster currently at Triple-A like Edward Olivares in the starting lineup if an IL stint is required. Catcher Joey Bart is DH’ing in today’s game, making room for Yasmani Grandal behind the plate.

Speaking of catchers, Cherington offered some positive positional news today when he indicated that there’s a “chance” that longtime catching prospect Endy Rodriguez could play in minor league games before the end of the year despite undergoing what was thought to be season-ending UCL surgery back in December. Cherington cautioned that any such rehab games would first come at DH and then first base due to the excessive pressure put on a player’s arm by the catcher position, though he didn’t completely shut the door on the possibility of Rodriguez getting time behind the plate before the year comes to a close. The 24-year-old switch hitter hit just .220/.284/.328 in his first taste of the majors last year but is a career .282/.361/.442 hitter at Triple-A who was a consensus top-50 prospect in the game prior to his debut and subsequent injury last year.

McCutchen, now 37, has spent most of his career as a Pirate. He was drafted by Pittsburgh back in 2005 and went on to rack up huge accolades from his 2009 major league debut through the end of the 2017 season. In that time, he hit 203 home runs and slashed .291/.379/.487 for a 137 wRC+. He also stole 171 bases while serving as the club’s regular center fielder. He was an All-Star five times in that stretch and was the National League MVP in 2013, the first of three straight years in which he guided the Bucs to the postseason.

The club then slipped from contention for a few years and traded the final season of McCutchen’s contract to the Giants and he would bounce to the Yankees, Phillies and Brewers for a few seasons. With Milwaukee in 2022, he hit just .237/.316/.384 for a wRC+ of 98 in his age-35 season.

He returned to Pittsburgh in 2023 via a one-year, $5MM deal. Given the downward trend of his performance, some expected his return to PNC Park to be little more than a feel-good story for a rebuilding club with little to cheer for in recent years.

But as mentioned, the reunion has coincided with a nice bounceback for the veteran. That’s not to say that he’s back to MVP levels but he was able to slash .256/.378/.397 last year, good enough for a 115 wRC+. He and the Bucs then doubled down, reuniting on another one-year, $5MM deal. To emphasize that McCutchen is committed to continuing his playing career, Mackey relays that he actually lobbied for a multi-year deal this offseason. However, the Bucs had a bit of hesitation since the 2023 season ended with McCutchen on the injured list due to a partial tear of his left Achilles tendon.

That injury seems to be long forgotten, as McCutchen has been back in good form here in 2024. He already has ten home runs, just two shy of last year’s total, and is hitting .241/.338/.401 for a wRC+ of 112.

With the results still coming, it’s perfectly understandable that he wants to keep things rolling. Mackey suggests there’s at least some hesitation on the club’s part, as they may prefer to have the designated hitter slot open in order to rotate other players through. McCutchen has played 20 innings in right field this year but has otherwise been in the DH slot. Though Mackey also reminds readers that owner Bob Nutting has said McCutchen can stay a Pirate as long as he wants.

There may come a time when the goals of the franchise clash with those of McCutchen as an individual. He said multiple times in 2023 that he didn’t intend on playing for another club for the rest of his career. The Bucs are gradually creeping out of its long rebuild, as they hovered around the Wild Card race last year and are doing so again this year. But for now, he’s a key part of the reason why they are competing, as his 112 wRC+ is second on the team among qualified hitters, trailing only Bryan Reynolds.

The ninth-overall pick in the 2015 draft, Happ is entering the first year of the three-year, $61MM extension he inked with the Cubs early last season. The switch-hitter has settled in to become one of the club’s most reliable regulars in recent seasons, slashing a solid .259/.351/.435 (119 wRC+) across the past two seasons while earning his first career All Star appearance during the 2022 season and back-to-back Gold Glove awards in left field. In 2023, Happ posted a career-best 22.1% strikeout rate while walking at an impressive 14.3% clip. That strong plate discipline has left Happ as a key piece of the club’s core entering the 2023 season alongside the likes of Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, and Nico Hoerner.

Losing Happ for any amount of time entering the regular season would surely be a blow to the Cubs, though Chicago has plenty of other options for its outfield mix available should their longest-tenured hitter start the season on the shelf. With top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong expected to begin the season at the Triple-A level, the likes of Mike Tauchman and Alexander Canario figure to be the most likely options for a reserve outfield spot with the big league club to open the season currently on the 40-man roster. Veteran left fielder David Peralta is also in camp with the club after signing on a minor league deal last month, with slugging prospect Owen Caissie also among the club’s non-roster invitees.

More from around the NL Central…

• Pirates outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Joshua Palacios have yet to appear this spring after being slowed by injuries entering camp, though manager Derek Shelton recently told reporters (including those at MLB.com) that each figures to see the field at some point in the next week. McCutchen, 37, has been working on defensive drills and taking swings this spring while rehabbing the partially torn achilles that ended his 2023 campaign in early September. The veteran figures to enter the 2024 season penciled in as the club’s regular DH, though he did make occasional appearances in right field last season. Palacios, meanwhile, figures to battle with the likes of Edward Olivares and Connor Joe for playing time in the outfield alongside regulars Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski. The 28-year-old slashed .239/.279/.413 in 91 games with Pittsburgh last year but has been slowed this spring by a lower leg injury.
• Cardinals southpaw Matthew Liberatore spoke to reporters (including Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) recently about his goals for the coming season, and while he indicated that he still hopes to have a future with the club as a starting pitcher at some point, right now his priority is contributing in the majors regardless of his role. Liberatore struggled to a 5.88 ERA in 11 starts for the Cardinals last year but was dominant out of the bullpen, posting a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings of work with a 24.5% strikeout rate. The club’s starting five appears set with Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn all poised to take spots in the rotation, though Liberatore has stretched out as a starter alongside the likes of Zack Thompson with Worthy noting that manager Oli Marmol hasn’t ruled out the possibility of opening the season with a six-man rotation.

It’s a reunion that has long been expected, given not only McCutchen’s vocal stance on the matter but also comments from general manager Ben Cherington indicating the Pirates wanted McCutchen back and planned to discuss a new contract in the offseason. Since Cutch suffered a partial tear of his Achilles in September, the club appeared to want to see how his rehab progressed before making things official, but reporting from last week suggested the two sides were starting to accelerate talks.

McCutchen, 37, isn’t the MVP-caliber performer from earlier in his career but can still swing it. He signed a one-year, $5MM deal to rejoin the Pirates for 2023, hitting 12 home runs and drawing walks in 15.9% of his plate appearances. His .256/.378/.397 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 115, indicating he was 15% better than the league average hitter overall. He also still flashed a bit of baserunning prowess, stealing 11 bags in 14 tries.

Defensively, he was almost exclusively a designated hitter, spending just 64 2/3 innings in right field. He is likely to be in a similar role this year, having returned via the same $5MM deal that he signed a year ago. The Pirates will likely be delighted with a comparable performance but are surely also signing McCutchen for leadership and veteran presence, as well as being a treat for fans. Jack Suwinski and Bryan Reynolds will likely have two everyday spots in the outfield locked down. Edward Olivares, Joshua Palacios, Connor Joe and others should be battling for playing time in one corner, though McCutchen will perhaps jog out to the grass from time to time.

The season-ending injury forced McCutchen to miss the last few weeks of the 2023 campaign, with his last appearance coming on September 4. That kept him from hitting his 300th career home run during the campaign, as he’s currently parked on 299. But he should have plenty of opportunities to hit that milestone next year, which will appropriately come in a Pirates’ uniform. From 2009 to 2017, McCutchen was a five-time All-Star, won a Gold Glove in 2012 and National League MVP in 2013.

The heyday of McCutchen coincided with the club’s last competitive window. They made the playoffs in three straight years from 2013 to 2015 but haven’t been back since. The 2023 campaign featured an encouraging record of 76-86, still below .500 but their best finish since 2018. If the club’s young core is able to take a step forward and return to the postseason, then McCutchen could be a nice throughline connecting the two eras of baseball in Pittsburgh.

Roster Resource now pegs the club’s 2024 payroll at $70MM, just a bit below last year’s Opening Day figure of $73MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. General manager Ben Cherington has suggested that the payroll could push upwards next year, though it’s unclear exactly how far they are willing to go. In the post from Mackey linked above, he hints that the club may be making an addition to its pitching staff soon, likely via trade.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the agreement and the terms.

A reunion between McCutchen and the Pirates has been seen as something of a formality for several months now. McCutchen returned to his original organization last year, signing a one-year deal worth $5MM to serve as the team’s designated hitter and a part-time outfielder. He told Mackey at the time of his signing that he hoped to finish his career back in Pittsburgh, which felt like home. Cutch reiterated his desire to play in Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh only back in May, and after his season ended in early September with a partial tear of his Achilles, Pirates GM Ben Cherington said they hoped for a new deal and planned to talk with McCutchen this winter.

The now-37-year-old McCutchen is a franchise icon with the Pirates, who selected him with the 11th overall pick back in 2005 and watched him develop from one of the game’s top prospects, to a Rookie of the Year candidate, to a five-time All-Star and eventual National League MVP (2013). McCutchen signed a $51.5MM extension with the Bucs in 2012 but was traded after the team picked up an option for the seventh and final season of the deal — a swap that brought current cornerstone Bryan Reynolds to Pittsburgh.

After stops with the Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Brewers, McCutchen returned home last year and spoke often about his love of Pittsburgh and his desire to finish out his career there. It wasn’t all pure nostalgia, however, as the four-time Silver Slugger proved he still had life in his bat as well. McCutchen tallied 473 plate appearances and posted a .256/.378/.397 batting line, swatting a dozen homers, collecting 19 doubles and walking at a massive 15.9% clip.

The timing of McCutchen’s injury was particularly unfortunate, as it came on the cusp of a milestone. McCutchen sits at 299 career home runs — just one shy of becoming just the 160th player in MLB history to reach 300 home runs. The Pirates open the 2024 season on the road, so it’s possible that his milestone round-tripper could come away from the home fans, but regardless of where that historic long ball takes place, the fans at PNC Park will give McCutchen a hero’s welcome whenever he first takes the field again next season.

Assuming McCutchen resumes his role as a primary designated hitter, he’ll slot into a lineup with Reynolds and Jack Suwinski locked into outfield spots, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz on the left side of the infield, Henry Davis behind the plate and recently signed Rowdy Tellez at first base. The Pirates currently have a projected payroll of just $58MM, and re-signing McCutchen at or close to the same terms as last year would push that to $63MM. It’s not clear quite how high the team’s payroll will go, but Cherington said at this month’s Winter Meetings that the payroll will increase over last year’s $73MM mark.

“We’ve been mostly focused on starting pitching, both in free agency and trade,” Cherington said of the offseason’s first few days (link via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). “We would like to add to our position player group, too. But more of our energy has gone to the pitching market early on.”

Bringing in a starter or two seems an obvious goal for the front office. Pittsburgh had five starters log 50+ innings this past season. None had an ERA better than Mitch Keller’s 4.21 mark. Rich Hill was traded and is now a free agent. Roansy Contreras had a disastrous season that saw him optioned to the minors on a couple occasions. Luis Ortiz allowed nearly five earned runs per nine with almost as many walks as strikeouts.

Despite a disappointing second half, Keller has one rotation spot secure as the current staff ace. Johan Oviedo logged 177 2/3 innings over a full slate of 32 starts. The results — a 4.31 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout percentage and lofty 10.6% walk rate — were serviceable enough that Oviedo likely goes into Spring Training with a job in hand. JT Brubaker could return midseason after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April.

That still leaves multiple vacancies, as none of Quinn Priester, Bailey Falter nor Osvaldo Bido pitched well in smaller samples. No one will expect the Bucs to make a run at Blake Snell or Aaron Nola, but they have the payroll room to add a third or fourth tier free agent. Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes are the only two players with guaranteed contracts totaling a combined $17MM next season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects the arbitration class to earn roughly $16MM. The Pirates opened 2023 with a player payroll around $73MM, as calculated by Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Cherington and his group thus have the ability to consider mid-level free agent options like Seth Lugo, Jack Flaherty or Michael Wacha. If they prefer the one-year route — a tack they’ve taken in prior offseasons — someone like Wade Miley or Hyun Jin Ryu could be a possibility.

They’ll need to weigh any rotation investment against what they hope to accomplish on the position player side. Cherington said the club would like to add at first base. Pittsburgh traded Carlos Santana at the deadline and relied mostly on Connor Joe and Alfonso Rivas down the stretch. Joe’s production was mostly concentrated against left-handed pitching; Rivas was waived and lost to Cleveland.

With Santana back on the open market, a reunion could be an option. Brandon Belt, Rhys Hoskins and longtime division rival Joey Votto join him in the free agent class. Rowdy Tellez and Dominic Smith are non-tender candidates.

It seems first base is the most pressing infield need for the Bucs. Cherington expressed more confidence in their internal second base options, which are headlined by Ji Hwan Bae, Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales. None of the group had much success this year — they were 26th in OPS at the position — but it doesn’t seem an addition is a priority, even if Cherington added that they’re “not ruling out adding someone.” A middling free agent market led by Whit Merrifield, Amed Rosario and Tim Anderson could play a role in that.

One free agent who seems likely to wind up in Pittsburgh is franchise icon Andrew McCutchen. The veteran outfielder has been clear about his desire to finish his career in the Steel City. Cherington has reciprocated that interest on multiple occasions, something he reiterated yesterday. The GM told reporters that he has had multiple conversations with McCutchen’s camp since the season ended (link via Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).

If McCutchen returns, he’d rejoin Reynolds and Henry Davis among the corner outfield/designated hitter options. Davis, a former #1 overall pick, saw the bulk of his time in right field as a rookie. Cherington stressed the organization still views the Louisville product as a viable option at catcher, though, even if their playing time share in 2023 suggested they viewed fellow first-year backstop Endy Rodríguez as a better defender behind the plate.

When asked about the Pirates’ midseason collapse following a hot start, Cherington didn’t mince words, suggesting that the team simply wasn’t good enough to contend across a full 162-game season. On that note, he emphasized that improving the team will be his “sole focus” over the offseason; in other words, the worst of the rebuilding years are over. Going forward, the Pirates are going to make an effort to compete. That doesn’t mean they’ll be serious contenders for the NL Central crown right away, and the executive acknowledged as much, but it certainly seems like his goal is to field a winning ballclub.

In terms of moves to improve the roster in 2024, the GM spoke about potential trades and free agent acquisitions. In terms of trades, Cherington said he isn’t taking anything off the table right now, and he’d be willing to make a significant trade if he saw it as the best way to upgrade the roster. As for free agents, he didn’t rule out the possibility of some signings, but he cautioned that he doesn’t want to “lean on free agency exclusively” as a means of improving the club. On a similar note, he drove home the point that the most meaningful improvements need to come from players already in the organization. That means young guys like Oneil Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jack Suwinski, Henry Davis, Endy Rodríguez, Johan Oviedo, and Quinn Priester stepping up and continuing to grow. Cherington also said he would consider extensions for some of the more established contributors on the roster, including Mitch Keller and David Bednar.

While he didn’t get too specific about potential targets in free agency, Cherington did say he might be open to “a different type of target” than he has signed in the past. That could mean a bigger-impact type of player on a longer-term deal, although the GM’s answer was deliberately vague.

One particular impending free agent he could talk about, however, was McCutchen, who remains under contract with Pittsburgh until the conclusion of the World Series. The former MVP was enjoying his best season in years until he tore his left Achilles tendon in early September. Presumably, both sides would be amenable to a reunion in 2024. Cherington said he plans to meet with the beloved veteran in the coming days to discuss his future with the Pirates.

The 24-year-old Nicolas came to Pittsburgh in 2021 as part of the trade that sent Jacob Stallings to Miami. Primarily a starting pitcher during his first two years in the minors, he transitioned to a relief role this summer. By and large, he has performed much better out of the bullpen, albeit in a limited sample size. From August 1 to September 13, he pitched 21 innings in relief, posting a 2.14 ERA and striking out an incredible 30 batters.

Entering the season, both Baseball America and FanGraphs ranked Nicolas as the no. 14 prospect in the Pirates system. The evaluators at Baseball America praised his powerful fastball, while those at FanGraphs were more impressed with his consistent command. However, it should be said that both sources were assessing his body of work as a starter. Thus far, he has looked more like a power pitcher out of the bullpen, with an impressive 36.8% strikeout rate but a less-than-ideal 11.4% walk rate.

After four years in the Blue Jays organization, Hatch was designated for assignment this August. The Pirates quickly scooped him up and added the right-handed to the active roster. In 12 appearances for Pittsburgh, the 28-year-old pitched to a 4.03 ERA and a 4.49 SIERA, nothing spectacular, but perfectly serviceable numbers for a long reliever. Still, it’s understandable why the Pirates would be more interested in the potential that Nicolas brings. It’s far more likely that the youngster plays a significant role in next year’s bullpen.

As for McCutchen, his move to the 60-day IL is nothing more than a formality. The veteran tore his left Achilles tendon earlier this month, ending his 2023 campaign. According to Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, the team believes McCutchen will be back on the field in 2024, and the two sides have agreed to discuss a contract for next year during the offseason.

“We believe that the injury he’s recovering from right now should not get in the way of him being a good baseball player next year and being someone who can help us, and we’ve agreed that we’ll pick that conversation up when the season is over,” Cherington said before adding that he’s hopeful the Pirates can enjoy “a lot more good moments out there with him.”

Now 36 years old, McCutchen returned to his original organization on a one-year, $5MM deal over the winter. The former NL MVP was the 11th overall draft pick by the Pirates back in 2005 and starred with Pittsburgh from 2009-17, leading the charge as the Bucs reached the postseason each year from 2013-15.

McCutchen was given a hero’s welcome upon returning to Pittsburgh and said both at the time of his signing and a couple months into the season that he had no desire to play anywhere other than Pittsburgh. “I don’t want to continue my career on another team,” McCutchen told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette back on May 26. The Bucs honored those wishes, holding McCutchen at the trade deadline even amid interest from other clubs and even as they shipped out players such as Rich Hill, Carlos Santana, Ji Man Choi and Rodolfo Castro.

It’s been a productive return to the scene of his big league debut for McCutchen. In 473 trips to the plate, the five-time All-Star batted .256/.378/.397 with a dozen home runs, 19 doubles and 11 stolen bases. He also tallied the 2000th hit of his excellent career this season, and had it not been for his injury, he’d likely have swatted his 300th homer. As it stands, he’s sitting on 299 big flies in his career. If he indeed returns next year for a 16th Major League season, he’ll quite likely become just the 159th member of that 300-homer club.

As far as the roster fit goes, there probably won’t be much outfield time to go around — although that was also the case in 2023, when he logged just 64 innings in the field. Bryan Reynolds is entrenched in left field, and Jack Suwinski figures to have center field locked down after hitting (as of this writing) 25 home runs. McCutchen hasn’t been a viable option in center field for years anyhow.

Right field is a bit more up in the air, but top catching prospect Henry Davis has logged considerable time there, and the Bucs also have some depth names like Canaan Smith-Njigba and Joshua Palacios on the 40-man roster at present. McCutchen could reprise his role as the team’s primary designated hitter, and he’d certainly be an option in the outfield on occasion, perhaps lining up in right field against left-handed opponents.

From a payroll vantage point, McCutchen shouldn’t be a problem even for the light-spending Bucs. A salary comparable to this year’s $5MM rate wouldn’t be a surprise, and the Pirates only have $17MM on the books in 2024 anyhow: Reynolds’ $10MM salary and the $7MM owed to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Arbitration raises will boost that number a bit, but the Bucs only have four eligible players: Mitch Keller, Miguel Andujar, JT Brubaker and David Bednar. Andujar is a non-tender candidate. Brubaker will likely earn the same $2.275MM he did in 2023 after missing the year due to Tommy John surgery. Bednar is eligible for only the first time. Keller stands to receive a healthy raise on this year’s $2.4375MM salary.

Even after accounting for those raises, the Pirates will probably only have around $30MM in total on the books — about $43MM less than the mark at which they opened the current season. That’d certainly leave ample room for spending, and if the improvements over the team’s 2022 record embolden owner Bob Nutting to increase payroll a bit, there could be a bit more in terms of available resources. A McCutchen reunion wouldn’t significantly cut into that payroll space, and it’s at least feasible that the Bucs could even be in on some mid-tier free agents (or perhaps acquire some controllable players who are entering or have entered their arbitration years).

For now, the focus will be on his recovery. It’s understandable if both team and player want to wait until there’s a better sense for how McCutchen will heal and recover before beginning to talk contract. But McCutchen’s message since day one back in Pittsburgh has been that he hopes to play out his career in black and gold, and Cherington’s latest comments only serve to reinforce the likelihood of that happening.

McCutchen, 36, returned to the Pirates this season on a one-year, $5MM deal. He had spent his prime with the Bucs but eventually bounced to the Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Brewers as the Pirates underwent a rebuild and gave most of the playing time to younger players. But he was able to don the black and gold again this year, serving as a veteran presence for a young team on the rise.

That’s not to say that his position on the roster was merely ceremonial, as he’s actually been the club’s best hitter this year. He’s drawn walks in 15.9% of his plate appearances and hit 12 home runs. His .256/.378/.397 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 115, indicating he’s been 15% better than the league average hitter this year, the highest mark on the club among those with at least 10 plate appearances.

The Bucs are well out of contention at this point but it’s nonetheless a tough pill to swallow, given his popularity among the fans and around baseball in general. He’s also currently sitting on 299 home runs, meaning he won’t have a chance to cross that milestone this year.

Although that’s surely frustrating, it seems possible he’ll have a chance to hit that marker next year. He has continually been open about his desire to return to the Pirates next year and reiterated that stance today, via delos Santos. He seems to have a good relationship with the franchise, making it fair to expect the two sides to reunite on another deal for 2024. The injury creates some cloudiness about his status, but if the six weeks in the walking boot get him back to health, he should be in line to have a fairly normal offseason and Spring Training.

Defensively, McCutchen was primarily a designated hitter this year, only heading to the outfield for 64 2/3 innings. Though the club might want to give some playing time to younger players, they could surely find some at-bats for their best offensive contributor this year, especially considering his iconic status in Pittsburgh.

McCutchen’s return should help to boost a Pirates offense that desperately needs a spark. After a hot 20-8 start to open the season, the club has cratered to a 41-51 record that puts in fourth place in the NL Central, 9.5 games back of the division-leading Brewers. That free-fall in the standings can be primarily attributed to an offense that ranks dead last in the majors since May 1 with a wRC+ of just 79, 21% below league average. As the team’s offense has slumped, McCutchen has maintained solid production with a .275/.399/.398 slash line in 208 plate appearances since the start of May.

While McCutchen’s steady veteran presence and an injection of youth from the likes of Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales have helped to steady the club’s offense somewhat, the Pirates will need improved performance from star outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who has slashed just .150/.209/.250 since returning from low back inflammation earlier this month. That performance has dropped his drop his wRC+ to just 109 this season, a far cry from the 133 wRC+ he offered the past two seasons.

More from around the NL Central…

• The Brewers announced today that they had placed third baseman Brian Anderson on the 10-day IL with a low back strain. It’s been a difficult season for Anderson as the 30 year old has slashed just .229/.317/.373 with a wRC+ of 90 in 85 games this season while acting as Milwaukee’s primary third baseman. Replacing Anderson on the roster is infielder Jahmai Jones, who kicked his Brewers career off by going 2-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base in five trips to the plate after signing with the club on a major league deal earlier this month. Infielder Andruw Monasterio figures to handle the hot corner while Anderson is on the shelf, with Jones sliding into Monasterio’s typical utility role.
• Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson is eligible to come off the IL for the first time today after suffering a left heel contusion just before the All-Star break. That being said, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma relays that manager David Ross expects Swanson to be out for a least a little while longer. According to Ross, while Swanson’s heel improved over the break, he still is feeling “some pain” when running the bases. While Swanson is on the shelf, Nico Hoerner has slid from second base to shortstop, opening up the keystone for Christopher Morel.