Former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen will open 18th MLB season on Rangers’ roster after 3 weeks with team
ARLINGTON, Texas — Andrew McCutchen will be on the opening day roster for the Texas Rangers, who expect the 39-year-old former MVP outfielder to split some time at designated hitter, maybe play a few games in the field and be a mentor to their young, talented outfielders. Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, said McCutchen, who joined the team on a minor league contract less than three weeks ago, will be part of the 26-man squad when the Rangers begin the season at Philadelphia. The 2013 National League MVP and five-time All-Star more than a decade ago with Pittsburgh won a roster spot over Mark Canha, another veteran outfielder also in camp on a minor league deal.
“I was wrote off in a lot of places, honestly told to retire. But I knew deep down there was something in me that told me that there was still more in the tank and that I could continue to keep playing,” McCutchen said. “For them giving me the opportunity ...
I’m going to make sure that it’s worth it from both of our ends. ” The right-handed-hitting McCutchen, who will make $1. 5 million playing in the majors this season, batted .
444 (8 for 18) in seven spring training games, with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs. “There were a number of factors that went into it, but ultimately we felt like Cutch earned it just with his performance,” Young said. McCutchen is a .
271 career hitter with 332 homers and 1,152 RBIs in 2,262 games over 17 big league seasons, all but five of those with the Pirates. He spent the past three seasons back in Pittsburgh, batting . 239 with 13 homers and 57 RBIs last year when 120 of his 135 games were as the DH.