Position: OF
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 10/10/1986
High School: Ft. Meade (FL) HS
Drafted: 1st Round, 11th Overall, 2005
How Acquired: Free Agent
Bonus: $1,900,000
40-man Roster: Yes
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Minor League Free Agency: N/A
Options Left: N/A
Overview
The 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft, once he reached Pittsburgh McCutchen quickly established himself as the face of the franchise. He led the Pirates out of their 20-year losing streak and into the playoffs from 2013-15, winning an MVP award in the process, so his stature among Pirate fans is easy to imagine. He lives in Pittsburgh and did not move away after being traded. In his prime, McCutchen hit for average and power, with good plate discipline. As a major leaguer, he’s always had an outstanding ability to avoid chasing outside the strike zone. For most of his career, he’s had large platoon splits, often destroying LHPs while hitting reasonably well against RHPs. In more recent years he hasn’t hit RHPs especially well and has been up and down against LHPs. Defensively, the metrics haven’t been too enamored of McCutchen, especially in center field, although he won a Gold Glove in 2012. He’s always had near-elite sprint speed, even at age 35, but gets well-below-average jumps. His arm is below average. He switched to the outfield corners temporarily in 2017, then for good in 2018.
In 2016 McCutchen started to hit some extended slumps, although he generally bounced back. By 2018 it was clear that he wasn’t the same hitter he’d been, although he remained good. The Pirates traded him after the 2017 season; altogether he’s played for the Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Brewers. The Pirates signed him to a one-year deal for 2023, accompanied by much fanfare as he remains immensely popular in Pittsburgh.
2005-08
McCutchen mostly progressed quickly through the minors, reaching AA in his first full year, at age 19. He hit something of a bump in 2007, which he spent mostly in AA. He had trouble chasing breaking balls away and didn’t put up impressive numbers, although he was still very young for the league. He had a good season in 2008 in AAA, except he didn’t hit for a lot of power.
2009-11
The Pirates sent McCutchen back to AAA to open the season and the power started to emerge, as he put up an OPS of .854 the first two months. At the beginning of June the Pirates traded Nate McLouth and, with “super two” status no longer a danger, they called up McCutchen and installed him in center. He immediately became the team’s best player, putting up a 286/365/471 line the rest of the way. In 2010, McCutchen took a slight step backward, hitting 286/365/449 (oddly, the exact same BA and OBP as 2009, but with less power), partly due to a July slump. He did steal a career-high 33 bases. He had a similar season in 2011, batting 259/364/456 with 23 home runs. He was again hampered by a long slow spell, as he had an .895 OPS in his first 88 games and .722 in his last 70. The defensive metrics showed him to be above-average in center, after being less positive earlier in his career.
2012-15
In 2012, McCutchen had a breakout season, establishing himself as one of the best players in the game. He got blistering hot in early May, posting an OPS well over 1.000 each month from May through July. He hit a slump after an early August game in which Reds closer Aroldis Chapman very obviously beaned him on purpose. He finished, though, with career highs in OPS (.953) and home runs (31). The defensive metrics suggested McCutchen slipped back to below average (UZR) or just about average (+/-). He did, however, win a Gold Glove.
McCutchen followed 2012 with an MVP season in 2013 and an MVP-level one in 2014. In 2013, he hit 317/404/508, the following year 314/410/542, giving him an NL-leading .952 OPS. The season was marred by another incident in which an opponent intentionally injured McCutchen. In this case it was Arizona, which had notorious headhunters Tony LaRussa as CEO and Kirk Gibson as manager. The result was McCutchen’s first stay on the disabled list due to a fractured rib.
In 2015, the final season of the Pirates’ playoff run, McCutchen hit 292/401/488. He got off to a very bad start the first month and was noticeably hampered by a knee problem.
2016-17
McCutchen had a lot of ups and downs in 2016-17. The 2016 was his worst up to that point, thanks to a lengthy slump in June and July that could have resulted partly from a thumb injury. He eventually rebounded in August and September. In 2017, the Pirates moved McCutchen to right field, but when Starling Marte got hit with a PED suspension, they moved McCutchen back. At the plate, he struggled through the first two months of the season, batting just 223/301/404 through the end of May. In June and July, though, he had two of the best months of his career, putting up an OPS of 1.068 from June 1 through August 11. That stretch ended with a knee injury and McCutchen slumped for several weeks after returning, but he hit very well through the end of the season.
2018-22
In January 2018, the Pirates traded McCutchen to the Giants for Bryan Reynolds and Kyle Crick, incurring, of course, considerable anger from a dwindling fan base. His time in San Francisco didn’t go well, as he dropped off a lot at the plate, especially in the area of power. The Giants sent McCutchen to the Yankees at the end of August and he rebounded in New York the last month.
After the 2018 season, McCutchen became a free agent and signed a three-year deal with the Phillies, with a team option for 2022. He had a good first half in 2019, but suffered a torn ACL and missed the second half. In the pandemic season, McCutchen’s hitting dropped off to a career-low 102 OPS+, with the recovery from the knee injury possibly playing a role. He bounced back a little in 2021, hitting 27 home runs, but he batted only .222. The Phillies declined his option and he signed with Milwaukee. Serving mainly as the DH, he had a career-worst season, batting 267/316/385.
2023-24
In January, McCutchen signed a one-year deal for $5,000,000 to return to the Pirates for 2023. Notably, the deal was not the GM’s idea; instead, McCutchen himself contacted owner Bob Nutting about returning to Pittsburgh. Consequently, the best acquisition the Pirates made at the major league level in the 2022-23 offseason was attributable to the owner, who’s not remotely a baseball person, rather than Ben Cherington. McCutchen bounced back from his rough 2022 season and had a solid year, batting 256/378/397. His batting eye remained elite and his 15.9% walk rate was the second best of his career. He served almost exclusively as DH, starting just seven times in right. According to Statcast, he still has well above average speed and he stole 11 bases in 14 tries. McCutchen’s season was uneven. He finished June with an OPS of .854, but slumped badly to .427 in July. He started September 6-for-9, but unfortunately his season ended at that point with a torn Achilles tendon. The injury left him stuck on 299 career home runs.
McCutchen became a free agent after the 2023 season, but as was widely expected, he signed to return in 2024. He had a similar year to 2023, hitting for more power while striking out more and walking less. He was streaky, as he’s often been in his career. His OPS was in the .600s during four months, but was .833 in May and 1.193 in August. For the season he hit 232/328/411 with an 11% walk rate and 26% K rate. He hit 20 home runs, his tenth season with at least that many. He also reached 300 career home runs. Unusually for him, he had a mild reverse platoon split. McCutchen was bothered off and on for much of the year by a knee injury and spent half of August on the injured list. He played just 21 innings in the outfield, spending the rest of his time at DH.
Stats
Transactions
June 7, 2005: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round, 11th overall pick; signed on June 14.
June 3, 2009: Contract purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
January 15, 2018: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates with cash to the San Francisco Giants for Bryan Reynolds, Kyle Crick and $500,000 international bonus pool space.
August 31, 2018: Traded by the San Francisco Giants with cash to the New York Yankees for Abiatal Avelino and Juan De Paula.
October 29, 2018: Became a free agent.
December 12, 2018: Signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies.
November 3, 2021: Team option declined by the Philadelphia Phillies; became a free agent on November 5.
March 14, 2022: Signed as a free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers.
November 6, 2022: Became a free agent.
January 20, 2023: Signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
November 2, 2023: Became a free agent.
December 19, 2023: Signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates.