Every once in a while, Andrew McCutchen decides to remind everyone that he isn’t just a Pittsburgh Pirates legend — he’s a living Pittsburgh Pirates legend. He's still here. Still competitive. Still paying attention. And still very much protective of his place in Pittsburgh.
So when Alex Stumpf of MLB.com told a Reddit AMA audience he was “leaning toward” McCutchen not returning to the Pirates in 2026, it didn’t take long for No. 22 himself to see it.
And McCutchen didn’t issue a polite PR-crafted statement. He didn’t funnel it through an agent.