With little happening for the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason aside from keeping their ace Aaron Nola from leaving for another team, the rest of their winter will be spent watching what other teams do.
Nola is unlikely to play for a team other than the Phillies after signing a seven-year contract with the organization that drafted him.
This offseason, their in-state rival Pittsburgh Pirates were able to get their own feel-good story.
According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, Andrew McCutchen has signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Pirates and plans to retire with the team.
He was the 11th overall pick in the 2005 MLB Draft and went on to become one of the best players in franchise history.
From 2011 to 2015, McCutchen was selected to five consecutive All-Star games, leading the league in hits (194) in 2012 and winning National League MVP in 2013. From 2012 to 2015, he finished in the top five of the voting.
His first nine-year stint with the Pirates came to an end when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2018 season. At the trade deadline that year, he was traded to the New York Yankees.
Prior to the 2019 season, Philadelphia signed the former MVP to a three-year, $50 million contract. Unfortunately, after a promising start, he tore his ACL during the summer and missed the rest of the season.
McCutchen finished his three-year stint with the Phillies with a.237/.343/.444 slash line, 47 home runs, and 143 RBI.
The slugger returned to the Pirates in 2023, recording his 2,000th career hit with the team that drafted him.
He stated that he plans to play two more years before retiring in order to establish himself as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.
McCutchen leads the team in home runs (215), doubles (311), total bases (2,607), RBI (768) and ranks 10th in bWAR for position players (41.9).
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