SURPRISE, Arizona.— Multiple sources confirmed Thursday that the Texas Rangers have reached an agreement with Andrew McCutchen on a minor league contract. The former National MVP seemed to confirm it himself on Twitter.
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He posted a short video of himself dressed head to toe in cowboy gear after dismounting his horse, a hobby horse that must belong to one of his young sons. He seems completely convinced of playing in Texas.
McCutchen still has to earn his spot on the roster, which he will try to do with a brief but serious preparation with just over two weeks left in spring training. His task as a right-handed hitter is to prove that he can hit left-handed pitchers better than anyone else in camp.
If you do, a spot on the list is yours.
The agreement is not official, so there are no comments from the club. But the low-risk signing (Mccutchen can earn a maximum of just $2.5 million if he makes the team) makes sense as the Rangers try to find a platoon partner for DH Joc Pederson and outfielder Evan Carter.
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The Rangers are curious to see if McCutchen is physically fit and how strong he has remained while waiting for the right deal to come together. He’s a veteran of 17 seasons, but he’s also 39. The body could have the same bounce it once did.
If everything is where it should be, McCutchen could be in games at some point next week. If you’re not ready to play in the Cactus League, you can move on to minor league games to catch up on at-bats.
The Rangers searched all season for a part-time right-handed bat. They liked Austin Hays during the offseason before seeing him sign with the Padres. Mark Canha was added to a minor league contract on February 15 as another right-handed hitter option.
McCutchen had a better 2025 than Canha, playing every day for the Pirates. The overall average was only .239, but he hit 13 home runs. He also posted a .749 OPS against all lefties and was 50 points higher against starters.
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Among those McCutchen will have to fight for a roster spot is Canha, a veteran and right-handed hitter in his own right. Michael Helman is another right fielder who has minor league options remaining.
Manager Skip Schumaker is also trying to reshape the team’s chemistry, and McCutchen can help with that as a veteran who has seen just about everything in the game and as a player considered a beloved teammate.
The president of baseball operations places extreme value on the presence of veterans and a player’s character, so McCutchen fits in that regard as well.
Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com