Former Brewer finally earns 2026 contract with Rangers after Pirates' disrespect

Andrew McCutchen's time with the Milwaukee Brewers was brief. The former MVP signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Brew Crew back in 2022 and served as Milwaukee's primary DH during the campaign. Though McCutchen was 35 years old at the time, he still managed to pop 17 homers, while immediately impacting the Brewers' clubhouse in a positive manner as a veteran leader who is universally liked throughout the league.

While McCutchen's stop in Milwaukee might have been brief, Brewers fans are more than familiar with the now-39-year-old's storied MLB career, seeing as he spent the first nine seasons of his career in the NL Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates. These were by far the best years of McCutchen's career; he made five consecutive All-Star Game appearances from 2011-2015, racked up more than 40 bWAR, and was named the NL MVP in 2013.

After his stop in Milwaukee, which succeeded seasons with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, McCutchen returned to Pittsburgh where Pirates fans, who didn't have much else to root for at the time, welcomed him with open arms. The former MVP has spent each of the last three seasons in Pittsburgh, and though he's certainly not the player he once was, he's slugged double-digit homers in each of those three campaigns, and posted an above-league-average 104 OPS+ during the stretch.

Surely those are strong enough numbers for the Pirates to hand their franchise legend another contract for the 2026 season after McCutchen declared he wasn't retiring, right?

Wrong. The Pirates, despite having one of the worst offenses in baseball in 2026 -- one that was filled with players who posted far worse numbers than McCutchen -- gave the Pittsburgh legend the cold shoulder this offseason. Now, after a long winter of searching for a contract, McCutchen has finally landed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, as initially reported by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

Pirates completely mishandled the end of Andrew McCutchen's time in Pittsburgh

When someone is as important to a franchise as Andrew McCutchen is to the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's important for the organization to do whatever they can not to sour the relationship when that player's career comes to a close. Transparency and communication are key in these situations. It's not that the Pirates necessarily had to hand McCutchen a contract this offseason (though I think they should have), but if they weren't going to, then it should have been made clear that 2025 was the former MVP's last season in Pittsburgh.

Without a proper farewell season, McCutchen is bound to have mixed feelings about the Pirates' organization as he looks back on a career that was undoubtedly the best one Pittsburgh has seen this century. The Pirates should be rolling out the red carpet for McCutchen, not forcing him to turn to the Rangers for a minor league contract just so he can keep playing the sport he loves.

What makes the situation even worse is that it's the Pirates, who have been irrelevant for the last decade, and have an offense that has been the laughingstock of MLB in recent seasons. It's not as if the Pirates, who have shown no willingness to compete prior to this offseason, have scrutinized over every roster spot to optimize their squad in recent years. Sure, the calculus has changed now that Pittsburgh has added Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn, and Marcel Ozuna to the mix this offseason, but if the plan was to suddenly revamp the roster this offseason, then let McCutchen know during the 2025 campaign so he can have a proper send-off.

It's a tough scene to witness for baseball fans everywhere. McCutchen is by all accounts one of the best people in baseball and has a strong argument for the Hall of Fame whenever he elects to hang up his cleats. He certainly deserved better from the organization to whom he gave his all throughout the course of his career.