PIRATES

Ben Cherington, speaking virtually during Grapefruit League media day, on Andrew McCutchen's future with the Pirates: "As far as I'm concerned, Andrew will always be a Pirate. I think most people feel that way. I certainly speak for the organization and that's how we feel, that no matter what, Andrew is a Pirate, and certainly our desire will be to continue to have a really strong relationship with him into the future, whatever that looks like. At the beginning of the offseason, when we spoke, what I shared was that we felt like we needed to go into the offseason with a singular mindset, and that was what puts this team in the best position to win more games in 2026, really focus on that. Be singularly focused on the team, and as we did that work, we would do the best we could to continue to share information with him about what that looked like. We did the best we could to do that. Of course, we can always look back and reflect on communication. There's always ways to make it better, but that was our mindset going into the offseason that really guided every decision that we've made. I feel confident that every decision we've made has been about what we believe is best for the team. And sometimes, when you are making those decisions, they're going to be hard. Some of those decisions are hard, and I think that, again, that's the nature of these things. Tremendous respect for Andrew, and certainly our desire would be to have a strong relationship with him going forward. Right now, obviously focused on the guys that are here in Bradenton and getting ready to prepare for a season." 

Cherington added that the Pirates "will never completely shut the door on Andrew McCutchen," but their focus is on this moment in time.