Andrew McCutchen, designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers last year, signing with Pittsburgh Pirates
After spending the 2022 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, Andrew McCutchen is back where it all started elsewhere in the National League Central.
Reports on Friday indicated that McCutchen had agreed to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the franchise with which he became an MVP, to a one-year deal pending a physical.
McCutchen, 36, made five all-star teams during his nine years with Pittsburgh from 2009-17, winning the National League MVP award in 2013 and finishing in the top-five in voting for four straight years. He briefly spent time with San Francisco and the New York Yankees, then three years in Philadelphia prior to signing with Milwaukee for the 2022 season on a one-year, $8.5 million deal.
McCutchen posted a .237 batting average last year in his age 35 season with a .700 OPS, his lowest mark in the big leagues, though his 99 OPS-plus indicated he was just a hair below league average. He hit 17 home runs, drove in 69 and authored a walk-off single against San Diego on June 2 in one of the season's more thrilling victories.
With a balanced schedule in 2023 cutting the number of games against divisional opponents, the Brewers won't face the Pirates until mid-June.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) January 13, 2023
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ex-Brewer designated hitter Andrew McCutchen returns to Pittsburgh
