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Andrew McCutchen is a Pittsburgh Pirates legend, but he isn’t happy with the franchise after not being invited to their annual fan fest before the start of the 2026 MLB season.
McCutchen has played 12 of his 17 MLB seasons in Pittsburgh, including the last three campaigns. He won the National League MVP there in 2013, yet the current free agent wasn’t asked to interact with fans at their annual event.
McCutchen aired out the Pirates on social media, comparing himself to other legends of teams throughout the league that go to functions set up each year.
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“I wonder, did the Cards do this [to Adam] Wainwright/[Albert] Pujols/Yadi [Molina]? Dodgers to [Clayton] Kershaw? Tigers to Miggy [Miguel Cabrera]? The list goes on and on,” McCutchen wrote on X.
“If this is my last year, it would have been nice to meet the fans one last time as a player.”
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Pirates GM Ben Cherington was asked about McCutchen’s absence from the fan fest, where he had the media trained answer.
“Andrew has meant a ton to the team,” he responded, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s had an incredible run at two different times. Certainly, his legacy as a Pirate is secure. Everybody with the Pirates, it’s our desire to maintain a really good relationship with Andrew well into the future.”
McCutchen, 39, remains a free agent but wants to play in 2026. Many believe he will be back with the Pirates for perhaps his final MLB season, but that hasn’t come to fruition just weeks before spring training.
“The job is to build a team that gives us the best chance to win games when you’re at the ballpark in June and July,” Cherington said. “Our approach this offseason has been laser-focused on what gives us the best chance to win more baseball games in Pittsburgh than we have in the past seasons. That’s gonna continue to guide our decisions. So much respect for Andrew. That relationship is really important to us.
“We’ll continue to communicate with him directly as the team comes together.”
McCutchen slashed just .239/.333/.367 with a .700 OPS over 135 games for Pittsburgh last season.
For this Pirates career, McCutchen has hit .281/.372/.467 with a .839 OPS, 248 home runs, 351 doubles, and 875 RBI over 1,713 career games.
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