Andrew McCutchen is coming home.
According to a source, the Pirates and McCutchen are in agreement for a one-year deal, pending a physical.
The deal will pay $5 million when finalized, per source.
McCutchen, 36, is quite possibly the most beloved Pirate in recent franchise history, going from being the club's first-round draft pick in 2005 to winning a Most Valuable Player award in 2013 and leading the charge to turn a stretch of 20 straight losing seasons to three consecutive playoff berths from 2013-15.
Now, it seems that he is destined to again take a leadership position for a young club and be a face for the franchise.
His return comes two days shy of the five-year anniversary of his departure in 2018, when he was traded to the Giants for Bryan Reynolds and Kyle Crick. McCutchen split his time between the Giants and Phillies that season before a three-year stint with Philadelphia from 2019-2021.
McCutchen is coming off a 1.1 WAR season with the Brewers last year when he slashed .237/.316/.384 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs over 580 plate appearances.
Over the course of his 14-year career, McCutchen has hit .277 with an .838 OPS, 287 home runs, 1,948 hits, 392 doubles, 1,002 RBIs and 205 stolen bases. He has five all-star nods, four silver sluggers, a gold glove and four top-five finishes for MVP, including his 2013 win.
While the Pirates have plenty of outfielders already on the 40-man roster, it's fairly easy to see how McCutchen fits on this team. Looking beyond the fact that he adds veteran leadership and prestige to a young clubhouse, that group mostly consists of left-handed hitters. Among the Pirates' returning outfielders, only Bryan Reynolds had a higher OPS against left-handers than McCutchen last year (.738). At designated hitter, Ji-Man Choi has usually been used as just a platoon against right-handers.
While it's way too soon to say what McCutchen's role will be -- the outfield situation is fluid, even excluding the Reynolds trade request saga -- he does add a much-needed quality right-handed bat, which has been a bit of a struggle to find of late.
