The underrated reason the Pirates will miss Andrew McCutchen more than they think

The loss of Andrew McCutchen to the Rangers is a blight on the Pirates’ franchise for many reasons. It dashed the players’ and fans’ hope of a farewell tour and rewrote the narrative surrounding Pittsburgh’s favorite adopted son. He won’t be around to make an impact on what is projected to be the season where the Pirates finally figure it all out.

Perhaps most, importantly, McCutchen will miss out on the chance to pass the torch to the next face of the franchise: Konnor Griffin.

If Griffin, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, makes the Opening Day roster, he will be the first teenager to debut on Opening Day since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989. The weight of those expectations, much less the hope of a desperate fan base, could overwhelm a player of any age. McCutchen, a former MVP and Top 20 prospect who shouldered the dreams of Pittsburgh for a decade, would be an ideal mentor.

But alas, it was not to be.

Andrew McCutchen passing the torch to Konnor Griffin would have been a fitting finale for the Pirates legend

That’s not to say that the Pirates lack veteran leadership. Four of the players on the Bucs’ projected starting lineup (Marcell Ozuna, Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, and Bryan Reynolds) have at least five years of service time, and Ozuna has over 12 years under his belt. He is already rubbing off on Oneil Cruz.

Of that veteran group, only Reynolds has been around the Pittsburgh franchise before this season — and while he has been a consistent producer, he has never been under the scrutiny that Griffin will face.

When McCutchen made his big-league debut in 2009, he faced not only the pressure to perform but the added stakes of replacing Nate McLouth after his deeply unpopular trade to the Braves. McCutchen, like Griffin, had flown through the lower levels of the minors, debuting at Double-A at age 19.

McCutchen, though, was nearly 23 by the time the call to the majors came. Despite his age, he didn’t miss a beat. He put up an .836 OPS and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Since then, McCutchen has been tied to both the franchise and the city of Pittsburgh. He proved his loyalty with a pre-arbitration extension that would have kept him in the black and gold through 2018 if it weren’t for his trade to the Giants. As the Pirates consider how to approach superstars like Griffin and Paul Skenes, having the physical embodiment of Pirates pride in the clubhouse would have made a big difference.