Andrew McCutchen injury update: Pirates veteran suffers season-ending Achilles tendon tear

Andrew McCutchen will not be lending his services to the Pittsburgh Pirates any longer. The veteran slugger partially tore his Achilles tendon and is not going to return this year. The outfielder signed a one-year deal with the team he came up with and was hitting pretty well.

Andrew McCutchen was not worried about his status after being removed from the game recently. The slugger took to Twitter, now known as X, to tell his followers not to worry. After a diagnosis, though, he had to provide the above update. He is actually not fine and will not be playing any longer.

The hitter was enjoying a career resurgence this year. He was recording a 115 wRC+, his highest since 2019 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He also had 1.3 fWAR accumulated thus far.

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What's next for Andrew McCutchen after season-ending injury?

Andrew McCutchen is a veteran, so there's no guarantee that this won't end up ending his career inadvertently. However, he once maintained that retirement is far off his radar. He cited Tom Brady, saying:

“I’m not done. I’m not done. Tom Brady said he would stop playing when he [stunk]. I don’t want to put it in the same context, but when my body tells me I’ve had enough, then I’ve had enough. My body is still saying, ‘Nah, you’re good. You’re fine.’”

He may have to revisit that last statement now that he's suffered a torn Achilles, but it doesn't appear as if he's done. However, his contract is up with the Pirates. He also expressed then that he'd like to play in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career after visiting teams like the New York Yankees and Phillies:

“As long as things continue to be the way that they are, I’m going to continue to keep going. I want to do it here. I don’t want to do it anywhere else. I don’t want to continue my career on another team.”

Andrew McCutchen doesn't want to leave

He continued:

“It’s everything I’ve wanted. My wife and I look back and are like, ‘This was right. This was supposed to happen. We were supposed to be here.’ It’s almost calming in a way. That ballpark gives me a different boost or jolt of energy that I didn’t really have.

Whether or not they feel the same and will re-sign him remains to be seen.