Once upon a time, in his prime, outfielder Andrew McCutchen was one of the premier power-speed threats in MLB.
Now that he has re-signed with his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates for one year in exchange for $5 million, he will get a chance to reach a cool power-speed milestone that will put him in some elite company.
“Andrew McCutchen is one home run away from becoming the 26th player with 300 HR and 200 SB,” Baseball Reference tweeted.
Andrew McCutchen is one home run away from becoming the 26th player with 300 HR and 200 SB.#MLB | #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/jcUTVZllHp
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) December 19, 2023
McCutchen already has the 200 steals, with precisely 216 over his successful career.
The 300 home runs should come eventually now that he decided to keep extending his playing career.
He is currently at 299 long balls, with 1,173 runs and 1,045 RBI.
The 2013 NL MVP was the Pirates’ star player the last time they reached the postseason, in 2015.
Then they entered a dark period and traded their star ahead of the 2018 campaign.
Despite being 37 years old, McCutchen feels like he can still help the Pirates win games and he is probably right.
In 2023, he hit a cool .256/.378/.397 with 12 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and a .776 OPS.
He is not a threat to go 20-20 anymore given his age, but he can contribute some pop and speed.
His biggest help to a young, inexperienced Pirates team is his ability to get on base.
That should help players such as Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz, Henry Davis, and others to drive in runs consistently.
The Pirates took a modest step forward this past season with McCutchen as the heart and soul of the franchise, and they intend to keep on growing.
Who knows?
Perhaps McCutchen can enjoy the thrill of a postseason race again before retiring eventually.
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