'I feel like this is my final stop': Andrew McCutchen says he hopes to retire as a Pirate

Andrew McCutchen is vocal about his desire to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, so the decision to return for another season proved “fairly quick” and “pretty painless” for the five-time All-Star and fan favorite.

After McCutchen’s one-year, $5 million contract with the Pirates was announced Wednesday morning, the 37-year-old designated hitter/outfielder expressed hopes to wear black and gold for the rest of his major league career.

“Hope I will have the opportunity to retire as a Pirate. I feel like this is my final stop. I don’t want to go anywhere else,” said McCutchen, who will enter his 16th MLB season. “Being able to say those things, then for them to honor that, and also to feel like there’s more for me to do. There’s more that I can add to this team.

“They’re not doing it out of any type of pity or just because of who I am. They’re doing it because they know there’s still a lot that I can still bring to this team. Not only off the field but on the field, too. It’s being able to have those talks. I don’t feel any different, either. It’s nice to be able to do it and have the opportunity to come back again, do anything I can to help.”

22 belongs in the 412. pic.twitter.com/WKbkZaxEet

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 20, 2023

Both the Pirates and McCutchen had shown interest in having him return for another season. After being traded to San Francisco in January 2018 and playing for the Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, McCutchen signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Pirates last January to the delight of Pirates fans who embraced him as the catalyst for three consecutive playoff teams from 2013-15.

Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting on Andrew McCutchen: pic.twitter.com/G4En8MS3fj

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 20, 2023

“In every discussion with Andrew, it was clear we both shared the same strong desire for him to remain a Pirate,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “He is a tremendous person, player and teammate. He is an all-time great Pirates player who represents our city with a deep sense of pride. His presence in our lineup and our clubhouse has had a significant impact on our young team. The way he plays the game on the field and carries himself in the community will continue to make all of us in the organization better.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who didn’t arrive until November 2019, didn’t know what to expect from fans but anticipated a good reaction. No matter which uniform he wore, McCutchen always got a warm reception at PNC Park. But he received a rousing standing ovation before his first at-bat in the home opener against the Chicago White Sox on April 7, a love affair that continued all season.

“I wasn’t here before, so I probably didn’t fully understand the relationship between Andrew and the city and the team,” Cherington said. “The reaction probably exceeded my expectations, really. It never really felt like it cooled off. A large part of that is because of who Andrew is, but a large part of that is he kept playing well, kept actually helping the team, helping the team win games. It’s easy for that reaction to stay positive when that’s happening.”

"It was a storybook, man."

Cutch relives his emotional return to PNC Park. pic.twitter.com/i6tRetmihZ

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 20, 2023

McCutchen batted .256/.378/.397 with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs in 112 games for the Pirates before suffering a season-ending partial tear of his left Achilles tendon in early September. He eclipsed several career milestones, recording his 2,000th hit, 1,000th walk and 400th double but remains one home run shy of becoming the 13th active player with 300 homers.

Cherington emphasized the “professional at-bats” McCutchen provided in the middle of the order, as well as the leadership he brought to the clubhouse of the youngest team in the majors. And Cherington said the Pirates would place no limitations on whether McCutchen could return to play in the outfield, after he played only eight games in right field because of bothersome right elbow and left knee soreness.

“He doesn’t want to be a Pirate to be a hood ornament,” Cherington said. “He wants to be a Pirate because he wants to be a part of the team, win more games and help us get to that more competitive stage as quickly as he can. That’s his sole focus at this point in his career.”

With shortstop Oneil Cruz returning from a fractured left ankle that required season-ending surgery to a lineup that features outfielders Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and newly acquired first baseman Rowdy Tellez, McCutchen believes the Pirates are poised to become contenders after a 76-win season.

“It’s great to hear that from Ben and — let’s be honest, where I am and the state of baseball, too — having a 37-year-old middle-of-the-order bat is unheard of, really,” said McCutchen, who batted third in 72 games. “To be at a place and in a position to where he feels that — and not only him, but I feel like I can be that for this club — it speaks volumes.”

McCutchen said he’s healed from the Achilles injury and is back to swinging, throwing and working in preparation for spring training. The former NL MVP knows he isn’t expected to average a .303/.405/.512 slash line, 23 homers and 88 RBIs like he did over the three NL wild-card seasons from 2013-15 but believes his “nagging injuries” prevented him from playing to his full potential.

“Being able to look back on that and see what I was able to do last season, I know going into this year, if I could just keep myself on the field and keep myself healthy, I think I’ll be able to be more consistent in a sense to where I may not be 2012 or ’13 Andrew McCutchen but I can be a hybrid of what I was last year and be consistent and better than I was,” McCutchen said. “That’s what I’m working on now.”