PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen is sticking around to see if the Pittsburgh Pirates can finish the climb back to contention.
The five-time All-Star outfielder-turned-designated hitter has agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal, the club announced Monday.
“It was important for me and for everyone within our organization that Andrew remain in a Pirates uniform. It is where he belongs,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “In my conversations with Andrew, he made clear his strong desire to help the team in every way he can, both on the field and in the clubhouse. I am glad he is back.”
The 38-year-old McCutchen hit .232 with 20 home runs and 53 RBIs in 120 games last season with Pittsburgh, which finished 76-86 for a second consecutive year.
McCutchen has made no secret of his desire to finish his career in Pittsburgh and general manager Ben Cherington repeatedly said toward the end of the season the team wanted to find a way to keep him as both an effective bat in the middle of the lineup and a veteran presence to mold a young core that includes National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
The 2013 National League Most Valuable Player — who has spent 11 of his 16 seasons in Pittsburgh, which drafted him in the first round in 2005 — is starting to build a resume that could merit Hall of Fame consideration whenever he retires. McCutchen has 2,127 career hits and reached the 300-home run plateau early last season and ranks in the top 10 in most major offensive categories for a franchise that’s been around for over 130 years.
The Florida native said last fall that he wanted to play in his adopted hometown as long as “I don’t embarrass myself” and believes the Pirates have the pieces in place to return to the postseason, much as they did a decade ago when he was one of the biggest stars in the game.
“I haven’t been in the playoffs in a while here and it would be nice to do it here,” McCutchen said in September. “We’re a special group of guys. We’re a special team. It’s there.”
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