Mark Madden: A reminder of better days, Andrew McCutchen belongs with the Pirates

Andrew McCutchen wants to keep playing baseball, presumably for the Pirates.

That had better be the case, anyway. There’s little demand for 38-year-old designated hitters with zero mobility beyond markets where they can sell interest, hype, some merchandise and a few tickets as a nostalgia act.

For McCutchen, that’s no place besides Pittsburgh.

McCutchen’s numbers are OK by the Pirates’ lowly standard: .240 batting average, 13 home runs, .708 OPS.

But no team would have him besides the Pirates.

If that were untrue, somebody would have wanted him at the trade deadline.

There would be nothing wrong with the Pirates re-upping McCutchen.

The fans love him. He’s part mascot, part old-timey hero, part serviceable bat.

In theory, McCutchen’s return would block a prospect from opportunity.

But the Pirates don’t have many significant prospects to block. Not hitters, anyway. Jack Suwinski has had ample chance to prove himself.

Konnor Griffin won’t arrive till the middle of next season at the earliest. When Griffin gets to Pittsburgh, he won’t be a DH. The Pirates have lots of hitters worse than McCutchen to ditch.

If we’re to split hairs, McCutchen sticking around to be an extra pierogi assists owner Bob Nutting’s con. It’s a feel-good thing in a situation that doesn’t deserve one. But Nutting’s shell game will continue with or without McCutchen’s presence.

If you’re concerned about Nutting’s profit margin, McCutchen is relatively affordable at $5 million this season.

So, why not?

If the Pirates declined, McCutchen would have no gripe. (There’s always the Savannah Bananas.)

He’s made $131.4 million, had a distinguished career and served the Pirates well.

He was the best player on the last Pirates team to be legit. (Maybe the last ever.)

McCutchen was NL MVP in 2013.

He’s not a Hall of Famer, but reasonably close.

He’s all over the Pirates’ all-time leaderboard: Third in home runs, sixth in RBIs, ninth in hits, 10th in runs.

McCutchen never got a playoff home run. He got one playoff RBI in 2018, but that was with the New York Yankees.

It’s easy to revere McCutchen.

It’s easy to be cynical about his extended presence, too.

It’s a contradictory situation: A great player with a horrible, thieving franchise. Emotions can’t help but be mixed.

McCutchen isn’t a top 10 Pirate.

He’s not Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Ralph Kiner, etc.

He didn’t have that one shining moment like Bill Mazeroski with his walk-off home run to win the 1960 World Series.

McCutchen said he came back to Pittsburgh to win, but that was lip service and he knew it. It had no chance of happening, and still won’t moving forward.

Does McCutchen help the Pirates’ young players learn and progress?

Probably. But it’s not showing up in the standings or statistics.

Getting paid to play baseball is lucrative and enjoyable. Small wonder that McCutchen wants to keep doing it.

Watching McCutchen play is fun, even if that’s mostly because it’s a reminder of better days.

The fans like McCutchen. When you’re as moribund as the Pirates, you need to have some players that the fans like.

If McCutchen still wants to play, those reasons are good enough.