Cubs should steal this longtime rival while the drama’s still hot

Believe it or not, the Pittsburgh Pirates are actually having a really nice offseason.

They've added Ryan O'Hearn, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Brandon Lowe to a moribund offense, as well as a pair of electric southpaws to the bullpen in Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto. Those units should be able to supplement an elite rotation headlined by Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Bubba Chandler, and it wouldn't be a shock if the Buccos returned to the NL Central relevancy for the first time in a decade this upcoming season.

But, of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for the Chicago Cubs' cellar-dwelling rivals. Just when it appeared like the Pirates' long-suffering fanbase could finally look forward to a new era, one of the last remnants of their previous one has spoken out against the franchise.

Andrew McCutchen could find a swan song home with the Cubs if the Pirates turn their backs on a franchise legend

It's hard to overstate how important Andrew McCutchen is to the Pirates and their fans. Over 12 years with the team, the 39-year-old has won an MVP award, a Gold Glove, four Silver Slugger trophies, five All-Star nods, and a Roberto Clemente Award in 2015. He's the best Pirates player this century by a country mile.

And yet, as they try to position themselves as an NL contender, the Jolly Rogers don't seem interested in bringing Cutch along for the ride. It's understandable that every roster spot is valuable, but it's organizational malpractice not to at least extend an offer to a franchise icon.

Well, if McCutchen feels spurned by the Pirates and wants to play for a contender in 2026, why not join the Cubs? He's already played for an NL Central rival before — the Brewers in 2022 — and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2018 with the Yankees.

There'd be no guarantee that the North Siders could give him a roster spot come Opening Day, especially since Cutch is now mostly relegated to designated hitter, a position that looks ripe for a Moises Ballesteros takeover.

However, amidst a wide-open competition for the fourth outfielder job, it wouldn't hurt to have a veteran presence like McCutchen's on the team. He doesn't offer nearly the kind of long-term upside that Kevin Alcantara does, but he was a league-average defender as recently as 2022 and has never posted a wRC+ below 95 for his career.

Alternatively, he could be a pure bench bat and supersede Tyler Austin as the Justin Turner replacement against southpaws; McCutchen hit .267/.353/.389 versus lefties last year and a .900 OPS for his career.

It may not be the most seamless fit, but as a means of gutting a division rival coming off the high of a strong offseason, the Cubs could do a lot worse than adding Andrew McCutchen to their roster.