Tag: Andrew McCutchen

There has been a lot of support for the Pirates to sign Andrew McCutchen. It gained some momentum when he was not at the recent Pirate Fest. I was hoping to write this blog after the Pirates made a move to upgrade 3rd base. That still could happen any day now, but I want to put my 2 cents in before this “sign McCutchen” rally gets any more ridiculous. Both social media and the local sports media have been really pushing this. If the Pirates were to sign McCutchen, it would show that they have fallen prey to sentimental slop rather than trying to win games. Let’s make a 13-man roster just for fun. This roster would not contain Konner Griffin, who I think has a good chance to make the team, but it would be unusual for the Pirates to make such a bold move even if he has a great spring training. We will make this roster very basic and then look at who McCutchen would replace on this roster if they signed him. The proponents of signing McCutchen point to the fact that the Pirates had a lot of players not having an OPS over .650, and adding McCutchen would make the team better. Have they not looked? We have a new team. I will pick 13 players to make the team with their 2025 OPS next to their name. McCutchen could have been an asset if he played 3rd base or catcher. He claims that he can still play the outfield, but the Pirates must not feel that way because they rarely put him in the field. In 2025, he played 7 games in the field and only played the entire game out in the field in 4 of them. Let’s look at a possible 13-man roster.

Things could change. Players could be traded. Another free agent could be signed making this even more crowded. Here are the 13 players that could make the team. Where noted I have put some players AAA OPS because of so few appearances in the Major Leagues. Joey Bart .696. Henry Davis .512 Nick Gonzales .661 Spencer Horwitz .787 Oneil Cruz .676 Bryan Reynolds .720 Brandon Lowe .785 Ryan O’ Hearn .803 Jake Mangum .698 Jared Triolo . 667 Jhostynxon Garcia .833 (AAA) Nick Yorke .825 (AAA) Rafael Flores .791 (AAA) The league average for OPS last year was .719. Naturally the Pirates were last with .655. McCutchen had an OPS of .700 last year, which is below league average. I would assume that this is not what you want from your DH. This 13 man roster does not include Jack Suwinski who the Pirates signed for 1 year and could make the team. It also does not include Endy Rodriquez whose short career has been marred by injuries. If he looks good this spring, could he make the team. As mentioned before this does not include Konner Griffin. Do you think he will stay down in AAA for the entire season, very unlikely.

This brings us back to the initial question. If the Pirates sign McCutchen, whose spot on the 13-man active roster is he going to take? Are you again going to stop the development of Nick Yorke, Password, or Rafael Flores for a below-average DH just because he is a franchise icon? All three of these players have spent 4 to 5 seasons at the minor league level. In my view, it’s time to put up or shut up. It is time for the youth movement to begin. The Pirates could swing some kind of trade that may open up some spots. If they sign Eugenio Suarez, the roster will tighten up even more. This is a good thing if, AND THAT IS A BIG IF, the Pirates make the right decisions when it comes to roster construction. Performance during spring training will have some impact on all of these decisions. We all know that spring training performance does not necessarily translate into regular season performance in both ways. At the present moment, the Pirates need to make a few more moves to make this team into a contender. Signing McCutchen is not one of them.