Andrew McCutchen shut down fake reports of his free agency prospects on Twitter
Former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen is the rare MLB star who is as entertaining on social media as he is on the field.
The slugger, whose $15M club option the Phillies declined earlier this month, is currently a free agent, and at 35 years old, fans are wondering where he will spend the twilight of his career.
On Sunday, a Twitter account that supposedly belongs to an “Independent Sports Insider” tweeted that the Pittsburgh Pirates were in touch with their former star and that there was mutual interest in a reunion.
Only problem? McCutchen shut it down. He replied with a cap emoji, which is slang for “lie” or “fake.”
🧢
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) November 29, 2021
The Twitter account belonging to “Cole Jones” is a bit suspect, as it was created this month and only began tweeting on November 28. However, one of his first tweets declared Max Scherzer to the Mets, nearly 24 hours before the news was officially broken by established MLB insiders.
McCutchen was the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2005, and made his big-league debut with them in 2009. He spent the first nine years of his career wearing black and yellow, was an All-Star five years in a row beginning in 2011, and won four consecutive Silver Slugger awards between 2012-15. He was also the 2013 NL MVP, and finished in the top-five for MVP voting in 2012, 2014, and 2015.
Since leaving Pittsburgh, McCutchen has played for the Giants, Yankees, and Phillies. He entered free agency this month with some of his best offensive numbers in years; his 27 home runs were the most he’s hit in a season since 2017. He also hit multiple grand slams, after not hitting one since his final season with the Pirates.
Will the upcoming CBA include the universal DH?
However, McCutchen struggled defensively last season. Therefore, a key factor in determining Cutch’s future is the Universal DH. If the next Collective Bargaining Agreement reimplements the DH for the NL, more teams will be interested in the aging star’s services.
Wherever McCutchen ends up, it’s fun to get the news straight from the subject.