The Pirates have made moves in December, as Pittsburgh added two veteran starters and a former 35-home run hitter in Rowdy Tellez. And on December 19, word got out that former NL MVP and Pirates star Andrew McCutchen will return to the Steel City for 2024. Given how McCutchen performed last season and his desire to end his career in Pittsburgh, that shouldn’t come as a shock.

Related: What Should the Blue Jays Do This Winter?

A Look at McCutchen

Almost five full years after Andrew McCutchen was traded from the Pirates, the former NL MVP returned to Pittsburgh in the 2022-23 offseason thanks to a one-year deal between the two parties.

The 37-year-old produced fine results for the Pirates in 2023, as McCutchen hit .256/.378/.397 with 12 home runs, 31 extra-base hits, and also swiped 11 bases for the Pirates. The 2023 campaign also came with a milestone, as McCutchen — who’s one home run away from 300 — recorded his 2,000th career this past year.

While McCutchen hasn’t hit for above-average power in two years, the 37-year-old still proved to be a valuable bat for the Bucs. McCutchen’s .378 OBP was 14th-best among hitters with at least 450 PA, which put him aside names like J.P. Crawford and Adley Rutschman. That was thanks to a pristine 18.6% Chase% rate, a top-40 finish in three-ball counts, and 75 walks over 112 games.

The Pirates made strong use of his plate vision and discipline last year, as 98.5% of his plate appearances came in the 1-3 slots of the Pirates’ lineup. While McCutchen likely won’t see much time in the field again in 2024 — he only played the field in eight games last year — he should still be a fixture at or near the top of the lineup.

Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, McCutchen will receive a one-year, $5MM deal. McCutchen will re-join a Pirates roster that also now includes offseason acquisitions Rowdy Tellez, Martin Perez, and Marco Gonzales.

Analysis

It’s not a shock that we will see Andrew McCutchen back in a Pirates uniform again in 2024. For one, the move to bring back McCutchen worked quite well for Pittsburgh from an on-field standpoint. McCutchen got on base, hit well, and helped set the table for a rebuilding Pirates team and bats like Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski.

He’ll likely do the same in 2024, where he’ll also be joined by newcomer Rowdy Tellez and a healthy Oneil Cruz.

Not to mention, McCutchen does like to play in the city where his MLB career started and where he had his best seasons. The Pirates could have easily moved him at the Trade Deadline last summer, and there were indications that contenders were interested.

However, McCutchen was also blunt when he stated last May that he didn’t want to continue his career with a team other than the Pirates.