Andrew McCutchen’s One Goal in Reunion With Pirates? Win. (+)
Andrew McCutchen’s reunion with the Pittsburgh Pirates can be viewed in a number of different ways.
For starters, it’s certainly a feel-good story for an organization and a fanbase that desperately needed one.
It could also be viewed as the Pirates brining back a veteran with an impressive resumé to help mentor a young roster before riding off into the sunset.
While both could be true, don’t tell McCutchen either of those. He came back to the Pirates to win.
“I want to win, but specifically, I want to win here,” McCutchen said during his press conference at PNC Park on Friday.
McCutchen, of course, knows what it takes and knows what it feels like to win in Pittsburgh. In each of the Pirates’ last three playoff appearances from 2013-15, McCutchen served as the captain of the ship.
Since the Pirates shipped McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2018 season, they have only finished above .500 once — an 82-79 record that season.
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On the flip side, McCutchen also knows what it feels like to lose in Pittsburgh. The combination of both can be an asset in his eyes.
“I know what it feels like to win here, and I know what it feels like to lose here, too. I think I can be able to be that voice in that clubhouse, to those guys, to my teammates, and let them know what it feels like.”
Winning this season with the Pirates may be a stretch in the eyes of people around the league as the Pirates are coming off of their second straight season in which they lost 100 games.
The focus of this offseason, though, has been improving the big league roster in 2023. McCutchen has been one of several veteran additions for the Pirates via the free agent and/or trade market.
McCutchen remembers his early days with the Pirates when the team was also in a tough spot. His second season in 2010, the Bucs finished with a 57-105 record.
With that being said, McCutchen sees more upside with the current group in place than his early days in a Pirates’ uniform.
“When I first came up, we were pretty bad. We didn’t win many games… This ballclub, I felt, is better than we were when we lost 100 games. That’s coming from me. I’m on the field and I see it,” he said.
He could be right. The Pirates do have some intriguing players across the diamond who they are counting on to make an impact next season.
One of those players is Oneil Cruz, who has already caught the eye of McCutchen.
“Guy’s a freak,” McCutchen said of Cruz with a laugh. “The things that you see him do, you go wow.”
Even if the Pirates pushing for a postseason spot in 2023 may seem far-fetched, it doesn’t mean that it will be the only shot McCutchen has this time around with Pittsburgh.
The 36-year-old veteran has no plans to hang up his spikes anytime soon.
“This isn’t like a one and done type thing for me. I don’t look forward to just playing this year and being done. I want to continue to keep playing.”
While McCutchen is signed only for one season, a productive season on the field combined with a jump in the win column for the team could equate to the Pirates exploring keeping the 14-year major league bet around longer.
Until then, McCutchen’s goal doesn’t change. He came back to win and he wants to do it this season.
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