Andrew McCutchen, Rangers Reportedly Agree to MiLB Contract Ahead of 2026 Season
Andrew McCutchen landed a deal with the Texas Rangers organization on Thursday, the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant reported Thursday.
The two sides settled on a minor league deal.
Despite previously telling reporters he wanted to retire with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 39-year-old may now be closing out his MLB career in Arlington.
The news comes after a series of social media posts in which McCutchen seemingly indicated belief in his ability not only to return but to succeed outside of a designated hitter role.
He had previously told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey last August that he believed he was "still capable" of playing in the outfield despite mostly serving as a designated hitter in 2025.
McCutchen played most of his career, including his 2013 NL MVP campaign and the last three seasons, with the Pirates.
He played the 2025 season on his third consecutive one-year deal with the Pirates and went on to bat .239, mostly as a DH.
McCutchen hit 13 home runs in 2025 to pass Roberto Clemente (240) for third place among franchise leaders, and added 57 RBI to pass Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski (850) for sixth in Bucs history.
Formerly a first-round pick by the Pirates in the 2005 draft, McCutchen spent parts of 10 seasons in Pittsburgh to start out his MLB career.
He recorded the most productive seasons of his career as a center fielder for the Pirates, winning a Gold Glove award in 2012 and recording four straight Silver Slugger campaigns between 2012 and 2014.
His MVP campaign in 2013, during which he batted .317, hit 21 home runs and drove in 84 runs, made him the seventh Pirates player to earn the award.
After leaving Pittsburgh following the 2017 season, McCutchen went on to play stints with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers before returning to the Pirates ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Despite suffering a partial Achilles tear in 2023, McCutchen recovered to remain productive as a designated hitter during his final two seasons with the franchise.
He will complete his Pirates career ranked ninth in franchise history with 1,713 games played and 7,368 plate appearances.
In 17 MLB seasons, McCutchen has played in a total of 2,262 games and made 9,707 plate appearances. He has marked a career batting average of .271 while recording 332 total home runs and 1,152 RBI.
McCutchen last made a postseason appearance with the Yankees in 2018. After telling Mackey that he wanted "to win" going forward, he could be hoping to make it back to the postseason with the Rangers.
