Why Andrew McCutchen returning as the Pirates' DH in 2026 should be a must

The Pittsburgh Pirates re-signed all-time great Andrew McCutchen to his third straight one-year, $5 million deal last offseason. He is a free agent once again, and while it’s uncertain whether Cutch will return, he is coming off his worst season yet since his 2009 rookie campaign. With 2026 being Cutch’s age-39 season, some Pirates fans wouldn’t even mind letting him walk or retire. But Cutch still has some gas left in the tank.

Looking at McCutchen’s 2025 numbers may make you think otherwise. In 551 plate appearances, the 2013 MVP hit .239/.333/.367 with a .309 wOBA and 95 wRC+. His home run total of 13 is the fewest he's posted in any season where he had more than 500 plate appearances. Unsurprisingly, his .128 isolated slugging percentage was a career-low mark. The only positives were his 21.4% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate. However, his OPS and wOBA both tied for career lows, and his 95 wRC+ was the worst of his career.

However, despite McCutchen’s advancing age and the worst power output of his career, he hasn’t lost much strength. His 89.5 MPH exit velocity and 8.3% barrel rate were both about league average. That wasn't a massive step down either from a decade ago, when he had a 90.6 MPH exit velocity and 9.3% barrel percentage in 2015, the first year of Statcast. Those raw power numbers led to respectable expected stats, suggesting he has more left to show.

Pirates legend Andrew McCutchen still has some fuel in the tank.

Cutch had a .267 xBA in 2025. If he hits .260-.270 next year while continuing to walk like he usually does, that could be a bat that approaches a .370 on-base percentage. His .429 xSLG% was also about league average. Cutch’s expected wOBA on contact of .397 was the third best of his career. His overall xwOBA clocked in at .342. McCutchen still has the tools and ingredients to give the Pirates an above-average batting average, on-base percentage, and average power.

These were also some of the best numbers on the Pirates this year. Among Bucco batters with at least 300 plate appearances this year, Cutch had the second-best xBA and xwOBA, as well as the third-best xSLG%. Only Oneil Cruz, Joey Bart, and Bryan Reynolds also had a better barrel rate. His 20.7% chase rate was in the 92nd percentile and the 14th-best mark among all qualified hitters during 2025.

Cutch obviously isn’t the superstar he once was, and this assumes he can maintain these numbers in 2026. However, acting as if he’s completely done may end up being an oversight. The Pirates shouldn’t question bringing back the fan favorite if he'd rather return to Pittsburgh than chase a ring elsewhere. His numbers under the hood suggest he could still be a .265/.370/.430 batter, which is a similar line to what All-Star Ryan O’Hearn and San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. slashed this year.

If the Pirates don’t want to take a low-cost $5 million bet on that, then they’re not going to find one cheaper.