McCutchen happy to be in Pittsburgh after trade talks
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2016, file photo, Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen swings for an RBI single against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning of a baseball gamen in San Francisco. NL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and previous MVPs Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen are among the top players confirmed to play for the United States at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
More
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Make no mistake, Andrew McCutchen is happy to still be a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But the All-Star centerfielder, who spoke Saturday for the first time since the team openly tried to trade him during the recently completed winter meetings, was bothered by the recent trade talks.
''I do want to be here, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that none of this didn't bother me, that my name was out there,'' McCutchen said. ''We're all human. To have my name to be thinking about possibly being traded, I mean of course it got to me because we all have those dreams.
''My dream is to be a Pirate my whole career and to win multiple World Series, and sometimes when your name is popped up, it kind of makes you think ''well, those dreams could be altered a little.''
McCutchen agreed to a six-year, $51.5 million contract before the 2012 season. McCutchen, who is signed for the 2017 season at $14 million, plus a club option for '18 at $14.75 million, hoped to at least be able to play out his deal when he initially signed.
''If you have a contract, it doesn't mean much nowadays because you can still be traded,'' McCutchen said. ''If you would've asked me in 2012, that I would be in this position, or my name being thrown up in trades, I would've been like ''no you're crazy,'' but the game has changed and things have evolved over time, so it's not a surprise.''
Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington - eyeing glaring needs in the starting rotation and with a potential plan for replacing McCutchen in place - sent out feelers to other teams ahead of the winter meetings, but nothing came to fruition with Washington going elsewhere for a centerfielder after talks with the Pirates broke down.
McCutchen followed it all on Twitter.
''Everybody was asking me things and I was like ''look I don't know any more than what you guys know,'' McCutchen said. ''I was just kind of on edge, seeing what was going to happen.''
McCutchen admits he's surprised to still be in Pittsburgh. He had a chance to clear the air with Huntington after the winter meetings.
''I do understand he has a job, but I don't understand what he has to do,'' McCutchen said. ''I can't empathize with that, just like he can't empathize with what I could be going through. We had a good conversation and ended it on good terms.''
McCutchen said he hasn't been offered a new contract and isn't sure whether or not management will approach him about an extension. McCutchen said he's still open to a new contract with the team despite the tumultuous week, but isn't sure if that is going to happen.
''I've always said that I want to be a Pirate and I want to retire a Pirate,'' McCutchen said. ''That hasn't changed just because my name is in on trades.''
There has been no player more pivotal to Pittsburgh's turnaround than McCutchen, a former first-round pick who made his major league debut in 2009. He earned his first All-Star berth in 2011 and won the MVP in 2013, becoming the first Pirate to capture the award since Barry Bonds in 1992.
McCutchen spent the last five seasons as a fixture in the middle of Pittsburgh's lineup as the Pirates pulled themselves out of two decades of losing to reach the playoffs three straight years between 2013 and 2015.
Last season marked the first significant bump in the road for McCutchen.
He got off to one of his typical slow starts, but unlike previous years, he was unable to snap out of the funk. McCutchen hit a career-low .256 while setting a career-high with 173 strikeouts, as the Pirates sputtered to a 78-83 record, a distant third place in the NL Central behind the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.
The 30-year-old McCutchen stressed repeatedly that injuries didn't affect his performance and said the same on Saturday as he vowed to have a bounce-back season in 2017.
''You're going to have your off years, but it's all about what you do and how you come back from that,'' McCutchen said. ''I'm looking forward to this season. I'm ready to go.''
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2016, file photo, Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen swings for an RBI single against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning of a baseball gamen in San Francisco. NL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and previous MVPs Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen are among the top players confirmed to play for the United States at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
More
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Make no mistake, Andrew McCutchen is happy to still be a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But the All-Star centerfielder, who spoke Saturday for the first time since the team openly tried to trade him during the recently completed winter meetings, was bothered by the recent trade talks.
''I do want to be here, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that none of this didn't bother me, that my name was out there,'' McCutchen said. ''We're all human. To have my name to be thinking about possibly being traded, I mean of course it got to me because we all have those dreams.
''My dream is to be a Pirate my whole career and to win multiple World Series, and sometimes when your name is popped up, it kind of makes you think ''well, those dreams could be altered a little.''
McCutchen agreed to a six-year, $51.5 million contract before the 2012 season. McCutchen, who is signed for the 2017 season at $14 million, plus a club option for '18 at $14.75 million, hoped to at least be able to play out his deal when he initially signed.
''If you have a contract, it doesn't mean much nowadays because you can still be traded,'' McCutchen said. ''If you would've asked me in 2012, that I would be in this position, or my name being thrown up in trades, I would've been like ''no you're crazy,'' but the game has changed and things have evolved over time, so it's not a surprise.''
Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington - eyeing glaring needs in the starting rotation and with a potential plan for replacing McCutchen in place - sent out feelers to other teams ahead of the winter meetings, but nothing came to fruition with Washington going elsewhere for a centerfielder after talks with the Pirates broke down.
McCutchen followed it all on Twitter.
''Everybody was asking me things and I was like ''look I don't know any more than what you guys know,'' McCutchen said. ''I was just kind of on edge, seeing what was going to happen.''
McCutchen admits he's surprised to still be in Pittsburgh. He had a chance to clear the air with Huntington after the winter meetings.
''I do understand he has a job, but I don't understand what he has to do,'' McCutchen said. ''I can't empathize with that, just like he can't empathize with what I could be going through. We had a good conversation and ended it on good terms.''
McCutchen said he hasn't been offered a new contract and isn't sure whether or not management will approach him about an extension. McCutchen said he's still open to a new contract with the team despite the tumultuous week, but isn't sure if that is going to happen.
''I've always said that I want to be a Pirate and I want to retire a Pirate,'' McCutchen said. ''That hasn't changed just because my name is in on trades.''
There has been no player more pivotal to Pittsburgh's turnaround than McCutchen, a former first-round pick who made his major league debut in 2009. He earned his first All-Star berth in 2011 and won the MVP in 2013, becoming the first Pirate to capture the award since Barry Bonds in 1992.
McCutchen spent the last five seasons as a fixture in the middle of Pittsburgh's lineup as the Pirates pulled themselves out of two decades of losing to reach the playoffs three straight years between 2013 and 2015.
Last season marked the first significant bump in the road for McCutchen.
He got off to one of his typical slow starts, but unlike previous years, he was unable to snap out of the funk. McCutchen hit a career-low .256 while setting a career-high with 173 strikeouts, as the Pirates sputtered to a 78-83 record, a distant third place in the NL Central behind the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.
The 30-year-old McCutchen stressed repeatedly that injuries didn't affect his performance and said the same on Saturday as he vowed to have a bounce-back season in 2017.
''You're going to have your off years, but it's all about what you do and how you come back from that,'' McCutchen said. ''I'm looking forward to this season. I'm ready to go.''
Today at 5:02 am by Rocky
» utube 11/19/24 MM&C Report-Census-Global Transparency-Budget-Trade-Banking-Delete the Ze
Today at 5:00 am by Rocky
» Barzani: The relationship with Baghdad is good and no problem can be solved by force
Today at 4:58 am by Rocky
» Al-Mashhadani: The international system today is “fluid and in crisis” and the Middle East crisis is
Today at 4:57 am by Rocky
» Legal Center: Iraq is the fourth Arab country in child labor and there is a need to legislate a law
Today at 4:56 am by Rocky
» Democratic: The new regional government is a coalition and one step away from negotiations to form i
Today at 4:55 am by Rocky
» Parliament resumes its sessions next week... and clarification of the mechanism for extending its le
Today at 4:54 am by Rocky
» A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan stresses the need to pass the Kurdistan budget law, whi
Today at 4:52 am by Rocky
» Framework warns: Agreement with Washington will be at stake if Iraq is bombed
Today at 4:48 am by Rocky
» Protecting Iraq is an American duty: Security agreements are not just ink on paper
Today at 4:46 am by Rocky
» Moderate leaders...are they able to guide the path at a regional crossroads?
Today at 4:45 am by Rocky
» Politician reveals political agreements to vote on personal status law
Today at 4:42 am by Rocky
» US report shows the importance of the population census in Iraq: It will reshape this map
Today at 4:40 am by Rocky
» Dollar-Dinar Exchange Rate Gap: Causes and Treatments
Today at 4:30 am by Rocky
» The Fifth Forum for Peace and Security in the Middle East kicks off in Dohuk with the participation
Today at 4:28 am by Rocky
» Planning for / Nina /: The census results will be announced at this time and we implemented the proj
Today at 4:26 am by Rocky
» Former MP: Worrying circumstances accompanied the population census process in Basra
Today at 4:25 am by Rocky
» MP Hassan Al-Asadi brings good news to a group of those covered by Article 140
Today at 4:22 am by Rocky
» Economist: Total cost of general population census reached 951 billion dinars
Today at 4:20 am by Rocky
» Israel's complaint against Iraq.. a prelude to an expected military action - Urgent
Today at 4:19 am by Rocky
» Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani: What is happening today in the Middle East is a “vital area for the second Na
Today at 4:18 am by Rocky
» The complex of forming the regional government is exacerbated by the adherence to the “old faces”
Today at 4:16 am by Rocky
» Bitcoin hits new record
Today at 4:12 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister's Advisor: National Development Plan 2024-2028 depends on census results
Today at 4:10 am by Rocky
» Al-Abadi responds to Senator Lindsey Graham's statement: Incites new conflicts and wars
Today at 4:08 am by Rocky
» War developments portend danger in Iraq.. Israeli threatening messages arrived via a regional state
Today at 4:07 am by Rocky
» Controversy over Kurdish citizens entering Kirkuk before the population census.. What's the story?
Today at 4:05 am by Rocky
» MP reveals date of passing general amnesty and personal status laws
Today at 4:04 am by Rocky
» Economist: The census will lead to an increase in the share of some governorates in regional develop
Today at 4:03 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani directs to equip border forces with modern weapons and secure all their requirements
Today at 3:59 am by Rocky
» Iraqi government: We are making great efforts to control the influence of factions inside Iraq
Today at 3:57 am by Rocky
» utube 11/18/24 US President Donald Trump Statement About Iraqi Dinar New RateIraqi Dinar News
Yesterday at 5:01 am by Rocky
» Mazhar Saleh: Population census is the basis for achieving optimal development
Yesterday at 4:51 am by Rocky
» Setting the date for announcing the preliminary results of the population census
Yesterday at 4:49 am by Rocky
» Kurdish MP: Population census will affect all governorates financially
Yesterday at 4:48 am by Rocky
» Between Israeli accusations and Baghdad's position: Is Iraq heading towards an international confron
Yesterday at 4:46 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani renews his directives on the necessity of completing service projects within the previousl
Yesterday at 4:44 am by Rocky
» Political movement calls on parliament to strike dens of corruption
Yesterday at 4:42 am by Rocky
» MP criticizes the Foreign Ministry's performance towards the Turkish occupation
Yesterday at 4:41 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Economy Committee criticizes the government’s withdrawal of the Public-Private Partner
Yesterday at 4:40 am by Rocky
» Before the vote... Washington moves its agendas to prevent the approval of the personal status law
Yesterday at 4:39 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki: The Zionist entity seeks to strike Iraq through its expansionist war
Yesterday at 4:37 am by Rocky
» MP identifies 3 black images of the American role in the Middle East
Yesterday at 4:36 am by Rocky
» Where is the Baghdad-Washington agreement? The Zionist entity provokes Iraq and threatens to bomb it
Yesterday at 4:35 am by Rocky
» Durable goods are an open option for citizens.. Planning indicates a high response to the population
Yesterday at 4:34 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Legal: The regional government is trying to change the demographics of Kirkuk to regai
Yesterday at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Arrest warrant issued for Anbar Council member for involvement in corruption and terrorism cases
Yesterday at 4:32 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani directs continued payment of wages to workers on a "daily wage" during the two days of the
Yesterday at 4:29 am by Rocky
» What is the relationship between the population census and the national development plan? Al-Sudani’
Yesterday at 4:28 am by Rocky
» Iraq's seaborne crude oil exports decline
Yesterday at 4:26 am by Rocky
» Will the population increase the number of representatives in Iraq?
Yesterday at 4:25 am by Rocky
» In cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund.. The first population census in Iraq in more
Yesterday at 4:23 am by Rocky
» Jordanian company completes strategic submersible pumps project in Iraq
Yesterday at 4:21 am by Rocky
» Rasool: The government is pursuing anyone involved in activities that threaten Iraq's security
Yesterday at 4:19 am by Rocky
» US military creates air bridge from Iraq to Syria
Yesterday at 4:16 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani, Putin discuss Middle East issues amid unprecedented escalation of tension in the region
Yesterday at 4:14 am by Rocky
» Know the secrets of the Iraqi house.. Baghdad demands that Washington deter Israel
Yesterday at 4:13 am by Rocky
» On the second day of the curfew, Al-Sudani tours Baghdad and “meets citizens”
Yesterday at 4:11 am by Rocky
» Planning: Slums are counted as a fact in the population census
Yesterday at 4:10 am by Rocky
» Despite problems, Iraq and Turkey agree to increase trade exchange
Yesterday at 4:09 am by Rocky
» Iraqi regions detect drones.. and Washington informs Baghdad of "exhausting" its pressure on the ent
Yesterday at 4:04 am by Rocky
» Bitcoin breaks $97,000 barrier for the first time in its history
Yesterday at 4:02 am by Rocky
» A difference of more than two million people: Iraqi or international estimates? Who will prove the a
Yesterday at 4:01 am by Rocky
» In numbers.. UAE exports to Iraq grow significantly
Yesterday at 3:59 am by Rocky
» Problems with the lists and the minister’s travel.. Baghdad to send salaries to Kurdistan employees
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 2:06 pm by Rocky
» Al-Awadi: Iraq will demand a UN resolution under Chapter VII to immediately cease fire
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 2:03 pm by Rocky
» How will the census reflect on drawing the economic map of Iraq? An expert answers
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 6:45 am by Rocky
» Al-Hakim and Al-Amiri at one table to discuss these files
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 6:43 am by Rocky
» Government Advisor: Population Census is an Essential Tool for Building Effective Strategic Economic
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:46 am by Rocky
» A legal expert explains the extent of the Security Council's response to the Zionist entity's compla
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:42 am by Rocky
» MP: The remaining time of the government’s term may not allow for a ministerial change
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:41 am by Rocky
» MP: Iraq has dealt a qualitative blow to international drug trafficking mafias
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:39 am by Rocky
» During 2024.. Iraq achieves a record in fuel oil exports
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:38 am by Rocky
» Calls to issue a parliamentary decision binding the government to cancel the agreements with Egypt a
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:37 am by Rocky
» Central Bank of Iraq sales exceed $6 billion in a month
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:35 am by Rocky
» Planning: Iraq will apply international standards in the general census in coordination with the Uni
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:33 am by Rocky
» Trade: Government measures to ensure continued food flow during census days
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:32 am by Rocky
» The Prime Minister stresses the importance of the collection sector within the system of providing e
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:30 am by Rocky
» Iraq produces more than 6 million m3 of wastewater daily
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:28 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister's Advisor: National development plans depend on census results
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:27 am by Rocky
» Investment extends the grace period for Bismayah residents to enter through electronic gates
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:25 am by Rocky
» Trade: The general population census will be a starting point for important economic transformations
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:24 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani confirms the government's determination to proceed with organizing tax collection in a fai
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:22 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani visits the headquarters of the Ministry of Planning
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:21 am by Rocky
» The Ministry of Oil announces the resumption of work in the production line of the North Gas Company
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:19 am by Rocky
» Christian discontent with 'alcohol ban': It opposes freedoms and causes financial losses
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:18 am by Rocky
» Al-Mashhadani stresses the importance of the Russian role in supporting Iraq at the regional and int
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:17 am by Rocky
» Iraqi government issues new decisions - Urgent
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:15 am by Rocky
» Legal expert details the extent of the impact of the population census on the controversial Article
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:13 am by Rocky
» Al-Mashhadani directs the preparation of reports on the performance of ministers, governors and head
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:12 am by Rocky
» Minister of Labor: More than 4 million children covered by the social protection system
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:10 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani chairs emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:09 am by Rocky
» Directive from Al-Sudani regarding meter readers on a contract basis in electricity
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:07 am by Rocky
» Iraq borrows $390 million from Japan to develop Basra refinery
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:05 am by Rocky
» Iraq and the "Israel-Iran" War.. Serious Government Measures to Secure the Launching Areas of Attack
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:02 am by Rocky
» Iraqi oil recovers and exceeds the $70 barrier
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 4:00 am by Rocky
» Integrity Commission Recovers Corruption Convict From Egypt.. Who Is He?
Wed 20 Nov 2024, 3:55 am by Rocky
» utube 11/18/24 MM&C IQD News Report - Contracts - Projects - Non Oil Revenue Streams - Activating
Tue 19 Nov 2024, 6:36 am by Rocky
» North Gas announces resumption of production line (1000) after maintenance is completed
Tue 19 Nov 2024, 6:34 am by Rocky