The Texas Rangers are reportedly signing veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a minor league contract, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
McCutchen, 39, played with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2023-2025, his second stint with the franchise that gave him his MLB break. In 135 games last season, the 2013 NL MVP batted .239, hit 13 home runs and drove in 57 runs. It was the 13th of his 14 MLB seasons where finished with double-digit homers and the fourth season out of the previous five that saw him record at least 50 RBI.
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While McCutchen can play in the outfield, he’s primarily been used as a designated hitter since 2022. According to Baseball Reference, the five-time All-Star has played only 20 games in the outfield since the 2024 season.
As Grant points out, what might make the right-handed McCutchen an attractive option at DH for the Rangers is his .799 PPS against left-handed starters in 2025. Veteran righty Mark Canha has been in camp this spring and has four hits in 14 at-bats while serving as DH. Joc Pederson, a lefty, is also on the roster and coming off a season where he batted .181 in 96 games with only nine home runs, 26 RBI and a .614 OPS.
Andrew McCutchen played the past three MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’ll next look to make the Texas Rangers as a designated hitter. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
(Brett Davis via Getty Images)
Should he make the team, the Rangers would be McCutchen’s sixth MLB franchise. After beginning his career with the Pirates in 2009, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2018 before being dealt again later that season to the New York Yankees. He signed a three-year contract that offseason with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Milwaukee Brewers were his next stop in 2022 before he returned to Pittsburgh ahead of the 2023 season.
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McCutchen has played 2,262 career MLB games and has 332 home runs and 1,152 RBI.
The four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, 2012 Gold Glove winner and recipient of the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award said at the end of last season that he did want to continue playing, even if it wasn’t in Pittsburgh — though he noted he wanted to retire as a Pirate.
“That’s the goal,” McCutchen said in September. “I’m not necessarily just here to be here. It would be good to have that opportunity but we’ll pass that bridge when we get there.”
