Why Pirates were right to sign Marcell Ozuna instead of Andrew McCutchen

As for McCutchen, his average was slightly better at .239, but he only homered 13 times with 57 RBI. He had a .333 OBP and a .367 slug. He also registered a 0.1 bWAR. 

Marcell Ozuna is more likely to find production in 2026 

But for anyone who may argue that McCutchen's icon status based on his 2013 MVP season and being the face of Pittsburgh's resurgence from 2013-15 should've led to the Pirates picking him over Ozuna, the Pirates are banking on the possibility that Ozuna, not McCutchen, will be more likely to return to his best self. 

Just two seasons ago, Ozuna was an All-Star and an MVP candidate with the Atlanta Braves. He posted a season that included hitting .302 with 39 home runs, 104 RBI, a .378 OBP, a .546 slug and a 4.3 bWAR. And in the season prior, he sent 40 balls over the fence and drove in 100 runs with a 3.4 bWAR. The last Pirates player to hit 40 or more home runs was Willie Stargell with 44 in 1973.  

McCutchen's second season back in Pittsburgh in 2024 saw him hit .232 with 20 homers, 50 RBI and an 0.8 bWAR. He hit a better .256 with 12 homers and 43 RBI in 112 games in 2023. McCutchen's best season in recent history came in 2021 when he had 27 home runs and 80 RBI with the Philadelphia Phillies, and his last All-Star campaign was a decade ago in 2015, when he hit .292 with 23 home runs and 96 RBI.

Andrew McCutchen's Pittsburgh Pirates legacy is secure, but the time has come

Allowing McCutchen, who returned to the Pirates in 2023, to hang around one more year and wave to his fans throughout another summer in the Pittsburgh sun would provide a nice ending to the best Pirates player of this century's career, but it wouldn't have put the current group in a better position to win. 

With McCutchen in the fold in 2025, the Pirates finished in last place in the NL Central at 71-91. There's, of course, no guarantee of a better result in 2026, but with the mounting pressure to show reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes a reason to eventually stay longterm, it makes sense for Pittsburgh to look in a new direction and gamble on Ozuna. 

McCutchen deserves a spot in the Pirates Hall of Fame someday, even if he's not worthy of Cooperstown, but he does not deserve a 2026 roster spot over a better offensive player.