Andrew McCutchen is one of the best players to ever don a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball uniform.
Right now, though, he doesn't have a contract for the 2026 season, and it doesn't sound like the Pirates will be bringing him back.
At this weekend's PirateFest, GM Ben Cherington was asked about McCutchen's future.
This is part of what he said, via Alex Stumpf:
"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 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."
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That doesn't sound like a guy intent on bringing McCutchen back.
Cherington added this: "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."
McCutchen has played more than 1,700 games with the Pirates in his career, tallying 1,781 hits as a player for Pittsburgh.
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He won the 2013 NL MVP with the Pirates and made five All-Star teams, too.
Pirates fans would love seeing him back in uniform, but that feels like a big question mark at the moment.
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