The guards have already set up Andrew McCutchen on release, according to the MLB.com transaction log. It was what was expected after yesterday he was tasked to make room for the signing of a midfielder Nicky Lopez.
Assuming McCutchen is not claimed off waivers, he will be a free agent. The former MVP can explore all possibilities at that time. The Rangers will continue to receive guarantees on his contract, which will reportedly be worth $1.25MM. The signing team will pay him the league minimum of $780K for any time he spends on the MLB roster, which will be removed from the Rangers’ obligations.
McCutchen signed a minor league deal during Spring Training. He seemed to be hoping to return to the Pirates for the fourth season which he held in the second game in Steel City. The Bucs never seemed to reciprocate that interest, and the writing was officially on the wall when Pittsburgh signed. Marcell Ozuna in a free $12MM deal.
Texas used McCutchen mostly in the team’s shortstop, splitting his time between DH and the corner outfield. He didn’t hit much, batting .192 with one home run in addition to 83 trips to the plate. McCutchen drew nine walks but struck out 22 times, a 26.5% rate that would have been the highest of his career in a full season.
It’s the fourth year in a row that McCutchen’s numbers have declined. The five-time starter came close to hitting the league average over 551 games with the Bucs last season. McCutchen still has a superior understanding of the strike zone but no longer has great power.
Although he struggled against pitchers of any handedness in his limited sample with Texas, he hit lefties at a solid .267/.353/.389 clip last year. The Rangers themselves have been one of the worst offenses in MLB against lefties. They obviously didn’t expect McCutchen to improve that production. The Mariners and Padres are also near the bottom of the league in lefty hitting and the odds are that he could see him in a bench role.
