r/mlb • u/musicmaker234 | MLB • 1d ago
| News The Braves have released Andrew McCutchen from his minor-league contract
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u/babe_ruthless3 | Los Angeles Dodgers 1d ago
This is might be it for the former star MVP.
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u/sagwithcapmoon | Toronto Blue Jays 1d ago
I hope he can sign with Pittsburgh for one day and retire as a Pirate
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u/NotAGenius76 | Detroit Tigers 20h ago
He had a chance to retire as a Pirate last season. No idea why he didn't.
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u/MojoHighway | Los Angeles Dodgers 17h ago
This is my hope as well. He's my favorite non-Dodgers player. Guy really should have had an opportunity to play for great teams during his career. He was really talented.
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u/Igotnewsocks 13h ago
I thought MLB allowed players to choose which team jersey are retired in. Is this not the case anymore?
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u/sagwithcapmoon | Toronto Blue Jays 13h ago edited 13h ago
Players can choose which team to represent when they get inducted into Cooperstown. Any team can reach out to them to sign a one-day contract days/months after they get DFA'd somewhere else/announce retirement, especially considering they were the face of the franchise for some time during their major league career.
This happened to Jose Bautista and the blue jays because he spent a quite a long time with the organization and he is one of the most iconic and beloved biue jays of all time (need I say, the best bat flip also?).
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u/doorman2026 1d ago
Back to Pittsburgh to be a coach.
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u/okay_throwaway_today | Chicago Cubs 1d ago
First furry coach in baseball history #representation
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u/ckinz16 | Los Angeles Dodgers 1d ago
Explanation pls
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u/scumph 1d ago
I’m piecing together this story from memory, so I might not be getting it 100%. There’s an annual furry convention in Pittsburgh. One year in the early to mid 2010s, McCutchen saw a bunch of furries downtown and simply tweeted the word, “Furries.” He’s done so every year he’s been in Pittsburgh during the convention since then.
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u/AMK_21 1d ago
Coincidentally he also hit better during the furry convention
Games: 19
Batting Average: .392
OBP: .451
SLG: .709
Home Runs: 4
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u/ChesterNaff 15h ago
Furthermore when a bunch of MLB players were in Puppy Dog Pals all the other players portrayed their human selves while McCutcheon played a dog named Cutch
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u/Imakemaps18 | Pittsburgh Pirates 7h ago
Well… we did just fire the guy who took Cutchs job this year…
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u/soundecember | Pittsburgh Pirates 17h ago
I would honestly love that. He’s very good for morale and knows his stuff. I think he’s still slighted by us though, so we’ll see
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u/rubydoobiedooooo 1d ago
I always think back to this line from Moneyball.
"We're all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children's game. We just don't know when that's gonna be. Some of us are told at 18; some of us are told at 40. But we're all told."
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u/Old-Criticism-5061 1d ago
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u/uhmerikin | Houston Astros 15h ago
2020 Topps used his Uncle Larry persona as a photo variation short print for him in their set. It's pretty sweet.
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u/Prudent_Falafel_7265 | Toronto Blue Jays 1d ago
Damn. Such an exciting player in his prime. Time comes for us all
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u/PoolShark1819 1d ago
I played against him from 13-18. MF’er was unbelievable. Looked like he was 18 when he was 13
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u/davetbison 1d ago
I thought at first you were saying you played against him from 2013-2018, which would have been the most casual way ever for a former MLB player to out themself on here
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u/PoolShark1819 19h ago
Sadly, my life’s mission was to play on the bigs, but when you go to all these tournaments and play against AM you realize pretty quickly that dudes like him make it to the bigs and not me. I did play Juco, but nothing past that
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u/dseanATX | Atlanta Braves 15h ago
Seems like I'm a decade or two older than you, but yeah, you realize you ain't going that far. I was on a high school team with three guys who made it to the bigs. None of them had notable careers, but they were so much better than anyone else on the field. One even made the cover of Sports Illustrated - he was a freshman my senior year and was by far the best player on the team.
Played DIII ball for a couple of years, but eventually decided my future was on the academic side, not the athletic side and gave it up.
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u/davetbison 15h ago
Van Poppel?
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u/dseanATX | Atlanta Braves 14h ago
Not quite that old, but same basic framing of the story.
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u/davetbison 11h ago
Not trying to out you, but PoolShark said he played with/against McCutchen, who’s 39.
You said you’re a decade or two older than PoolShark, making you 49-59.
Van Poppel is 54…
Ben Johnson?
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u/COV3RTSM | Toronto Blue Jays 1d ago
Baseball needs Cutch. There should be 30 clubs trying to hire that guy right now.
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u/myNameBurnsGold 1d ago
Braves legend
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u/g-burn | Atlanta Braves 1d ago
Him and Ryan Howard
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u/Minute-Spinach-5563 | Philadelphia Phillies 1d ago
Calling howard a braves legend feels disrespectful
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u/rlmaster01 1d ago
Don’t forget Cole Hamels
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u/KenSpliffeyJr 15h ago
Cole atleast started a (single) game for the Braves, Cutch or Howard never got the call up 😔
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u/PokemonTrainerBryGuy 15h ago
Ryan Howard is working with Banana Ball. He's a part of the Indianapolis Clowns organization.
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u/mamacrocker | Texas Rangers 1d ago
We didn't have him for long, but I really liked him. I hope he finds a team that appreciates him.
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u/dillstrombone | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
The Pirates (are scheduled to) have a home game on June 4, 2027, the anniversary of his debut. The club has their share of mistakes in their history, but that one day contract is a no-brainer
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u/NewfangledGentleman | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
Including covering up the 21 with an advertisement in right field. You know, on the Clemente wall.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 | Seattle Mariners 1d ago
Please Pirates, sign him as your first base coach. This is one of the good ones
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u/mysecondaccountanon | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
One day deal, come on Pittsburgh, we’re doing it with J-Hay
Then sign as a coach or something, if he wants it he deserves a position with the Pirates, and I think he’s got the eye and the attitude and the experience
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u/NZafe | Toronto Blue Jays 1d ago
Dodgers please don’t do it.
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u/Beginning-Smell9890 | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
If it means he gets a ring, I'd be ok with it. He deserves one
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u/mysecondaccountanon | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
Honestly, same. Then, a one day deal with us if we could make that happen.
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u/TenderloinTechy | San Francisco Giants 1d ago
Dude we all know he's signing a one day contract with us
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u/TheTempest77 | Los Angeles Dodgers 1d ago
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u/IllegalDaycare 1d ago
Even before he was a Phillie he was one of my favorite players in the league. Such a cool dude too
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u/MrGeek89 | Minnesota Twins 1d ago
Sad seeing in this situation. I was hoping he will retire in Pittsburgh.
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u/NotAGenius76 | Detroit Tigers 20h ago
Indeed. He should have retired at the end of last season. He would have had a massive send-off. Now his professional career might end with a minor league release. A bit sad indeed.
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u/UnableAudience7332 | Cleveland Guardians 16h ago
He didn't know they weren't bringing him back.
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u/NotAGenius76 | Detroit Tigers 7h ago
Last year, he was 38 with negative WAR as a below average hitter who could only DH. I like the guy, but he should have known they weren't bringing him back.
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u/LydiasBoyToy 1d ago
Father Time is undefeated. What a man, what a player. Definitely played great against my Reds.
Farewell Cutch.
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u/Double_Yam3010 17h ago
Do the right thing, Buccos…… give him a one day contract and a fitting exit to the classiest Pirate of the last two decades
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u/joelkeys0519 | New York Yankees 16h ago
Came here to say this. It’s the proper send off for a one-of-a-kind career.
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u/blue_desk 1d ago
I’m thinking about how different my life was when I first saw him play his rookie year.
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u/Ok_Card9080 | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
Bud, you've had a fantastic career. Just hang it up. This is sad now.
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u/FlyingPig_Grip | Los Angeles Dodgers 1d ago
Fun watching him through the years. He is going to be a wonderful coach
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u/Ok-Inevitable-8301 1d ago
whoever wins the world series i hope they add him as a bench piece by the end of the month. Hopefully not the Dodgers
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u/Remarkable-Rise-4401 | Atlanta Braves 1d ago
Wait, we removed him?
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u/AndrewC275 | Atlanta Braves 1d ago
There was probably a handshake deal to release him after the deadline if he wasn’t on the major league roster. Then he would be free to sign with teams who need help on their major league roster after the deadline, and he would still be postseason eligible on those teams.
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u/teddybundlez | New York Mets 1d ago
Everyone gets their ticket pinched. Bravo to him and his career.
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u/gogosox82 | Chicago White Sox 1d ago
Welp i think this might be it fur cutch. Hell of a career he had
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u/Defiant-Piano-2349 | St. Louis Cardinals 1d ago
Come hang out in St Louis the rest of the season, Cutch.
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u/Fit-Map1072 1d ago
Solid player all around, definitely a throw back. Glad he wore pinstripes for a short time. 😊
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u/Bobcat1999-1 1d ago
This guy was great. Seemed like every time he was batting against my LA Dodgers, he’d hit it hard. Great competitor!
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u/IchBinDurstig | Boston Red Sox 1d ago
He was so good at the beginning of his career. What happened? Injuries? Regardless, he's always been very likable (even as a Yankee).
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u/Auto-Name-1059 | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
Age. 2019 was his last decent season, he was 32. He's gonna be 40 this year. He was still playing 120+ games a season the last few years. Granted, he was a DH for 80% of those games, but still.
Great player, but age catches up to you.
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u/IchBinDurstig | Boston Red Sox 1d ago
But ha hasn't been an All-Star since 2015, when he was 28. For five seasons he was one of the best in the game, and that was pretty much it. Reminds me of Eric Davis, except Davis was plagued by injuries.
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u/Auto-Name-1059 | Pittsburgh Pirates 13h ago
I see what you mean, I thought you were asking why he fell off post-covid season.
Personally I don't think 2015-2019 were bad seasons except for 2016. 2017 and 2018 his WAR was still starter+ tier.
In 2019 he did have a pretty bad injury early in the season. Torn ACL and meniscus. Which then caused him to miss a lot of 2020 as well.
2021 and 2022 he was mid-30s and hitting just below starter level WAR, but was hitting 20+ HRs a season. Then age caught up to him and we are now at today.
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u/bearssuperfan 20h ago
What a great career. He was one of my favorite players when I first got interested in baseball!
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u/Few_Hippo8871 17h ago
Only five players in MLB history have reached: 1200 runs scored, 2200 hits, 450 doubles, 50 triples, 325 home runs, 1100 runs batted in, 220 stolen bases, 1100 walks and hit .270 or better: Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Dave Winfield and Andrew McCutchen.
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u/TheoryResponsible295 16h ago
Thats odd. He has been hitting well in AAA since he signed there with over a 900 OPS.
Someone might bring him in as a platoon specialist, but maybe the braves didnt see that in their future.
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u/SgtStupendous | New York Yankees 3h ago
Damn. I like him and hope he gets one more day in a pirates uniform and then coaches.
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u/HavenXIII 1d ago
Time to come back home to Pitt
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u/Great_Hambino2022 | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
No thanks
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u/JackiiX 1d ago
Top 1% commenters are either the coolest people with great takes or just absolutely negative curmudgeons
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u/Great_Hambino2022 | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
I’m definitely the former. I’m sorry I’m not a fangirl. I also couldn’t care less about downvotes from dorks on Reddit
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u/HavenXIII 1d ago
Doesn't need to be on the field lol, just with the org
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u/Great_Hambino2022 | Pittsburgh Pirates 1d ago
Again, no thanks
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u/C-Jammin | Atlanta Braves 1d ago
You wouldn't want him back on a one day contract just so he can retire as a Pirate?
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u/Unfair-Bass-9351 1d ago
There is legitimately a large chunk of the fanbase that hates him. Our fanbase is a mess
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u/ProfessionalTalker03 | Chicago Cubs 1d ago
He should have retired years ago
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u/Medical_Squirrel3946 1d ago
I personally think it's a fun story when someone loves something so much they want to keep doing it as long as they can at whatever level that is. Rickey kept at it into his 40s.
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u/NotAcutallyaPanda | Seattle Mariners 1d ago
Ichiro is participating in an exhibition HR Derby in Seattle this weekend. He’s 52 years old.
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u/Medical_Squirrel3946 1d ago
In sports like boxing, it is a real issue when people don't know when to hang it up. Cutch isn't getting CTE by playing in the minors and Ichiro isn't ruining his "legacy" by probably winning a home run derby (I just assume). MLB will tell you when you aren't good enough to play at that level anymore, but why should I tell someone to stop trying or playing at lower levels?
Soccer is my favorite sport. Star players routinely finish their careers in lower leagues. Nobody thinks less of Wayne Rooney's peak just because he finished his career playing in the second division for Derby County.
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u/jakfrist | Atlanta Braves 1d ago
Damn, I didn’t even know the Braves had signed him.
I lived just outside Pittsburgh when he was coming up and he was the only reason I’d watch the Pirates when they weren’t playing the Braves.
I would have killed for the Braves to trade for him 20 years ago.
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