Pirates

Andrew McCutchen Addresses Trade Speculation

Published

11 months ago

June 28, 2023

PITTSBURGH – Andrew McCutchen is more amused than annoyed.

The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder’s name has started to come in trade rumors with his team slipping out of the National League Central race. That has led to speculation on social media that the Pirates will deal the 36-year-old before the trade deadline on Aug. 1.

However, McCutchen shrugged off the trade talk Tuesday night after the Pirates beat the San Diego Padres 9-4 at PNC Park for just their second win in their last 14 games.

“That’s just what Twitter does, right?” McCutchen said. “Twitter’s Twitter, right? It’s nothing. You get around this time of the season, people are going to start talking. You have to kind of take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t think much about it. We just need to do what we need to do as a whole and as a club. It’s something I don’t need to worry about.”

McCutchen reiterated that he wants to finish his career with the Pirates.

He returned to the organization in January on a one-year, $5-million contract as a free agent. McCutchen played for the Pirates from 2009-17 before being traded, winning the 2013 National League MVP award, and making five straight All-Star Game appearances from 2011-16.

“I’ve vocalized how I felt about being here and the reason why I came back,” McCutchen said. “That stance hasn’t changed. I still want to be here regardless. At the same time, that’s out of my control. I can’t control that. That’s not my call. It’s not like I have a no-trade clause or anything like that. That’s not on me. All I can say is where I want to be. At the end of the day, that has nothing to do with where I end up.

“I just need to focus on where I’m at right now. That’s here. I want to win here. I want to be here. That’s what I’m going to focus on. Just gonna keep continuing to prepare and be here and us to try and do our best to go out there and win ballgames and get ourselves back in this race because we’re not far away from it. Anything can happen in this division. We all know that.”