After emotional offseason, McCutchen grateful for opportunity with Rangers

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Andrew McCutchen had the attire ready.

On Thursday morning, as reporters percolated that the former National League MVP was signing a Minor League deal with the Rangers, McCutchen took to Twitter to confirm the deal. It took no words, just a cowboy hat, some boots and a toy horse.

“To people that don't know my personality, I can come off as pretty quiet, but once you get to know me, I'm a clown,” McCutchen said. “So I like to have fun. I like to laugh. That was kind of my welcome to the people around me.”

The 39-year-old is in the final stretch of a potential Hall of Fame career, currently standing as MLB's active leader in games played (2,262) and at bats (8,350), while ranking highly among active players in runs (2nd, 1,290), walks (2nd, 1,183) and hits (3rd, 2,266).

He wasn’t shy about his desire to return to Pittsburgh, where he spent the first eight years of his MLB career (2009-17) before returning in 2023. But that possibility became less and less likely after the Bucs signed designated hitter Marcell Ozuna to a one-year deal. McCutchen admits that it had been an emotional offseason as he evaluated his future, both in Pittsburgh and within the sport as a whole.

Enter Texas.

The Rangers were one of the first options for McCutchen, and honestly, maybe the only one. There’s just under three weeks left of Spring Training. He knew that if he wanted to keep playing at the big league level, this could be the best opportunity.

“I won't say there's any curiosity there,” McCutchen said. “There's just an understanding that it may take a few days to feel like I'm ready. I haven't even put my cleat in the dirt yet. But I've done everything that I could possibly do to keep myself healthy. I understand I'm on borrowed time, and understand the situation. I'm just grateful for the opportunity and grateful to get back out there.”

Though he’s not quite at his MVP form any longer, he’s still been a productive player in a designated hitter role for the Pirates over the last three seasons.

McCutchen appeared in 135 games for Pittsburgh last season, ranking third on the club in home runs (13) and RBIs (57). He saw the bulk of his action at designated hitter, where he made 120 starts, along with six starts in right field and one in left field.

“I saw him a lot [as a player] obviously in the NL Central killing us,” said manager Skip Schumaker. “He still feels like he has something left in the tank. We still feel like he has something left in the tank. He's going to come and compete for a job. We’re excited that he's here, he's in good shape. Obviously, there's a lot of numbers in the back of that baseball card that are pretty good. … We're at that point at camp where we can't take too long for him to work. And he's eager to get going.”

If McCutchen makes the Opening Day roster, it would likely be as a right-handed complement to Joc Pederson in the designated hitter spot.

And even though McCutchen has only played 20 games in the outfield over the last three seasons combined, Schumaker did not count out that possibility that the veteran could appear at the corners at times.

“I'm at their disposal, whatever that means for them, whatever role that I might have, I'm going to be there for that,” McCutchen said. “So I see myself as just available. The best ability is availability, and that's what I'm here to do. I'm not here to set any goals for at-bats or games. I'm just here to be available. I'm at this team's disposal in any way, shape or form. That's the goal for myself. Skip knows that he can use me, that I'm not just wasting a bench spot.”