Andrew McCutchen isn’t holding back. In his recent sit-down at Wrigley with Jose Negron of DKPS, Cutch admitted he doesn’t want to “waste a roster spot” and made it clear that the Pirates have to pay to win if they want to take advantage of their pitching window. We dive into what that means for his future in Pittsburgh, how his Milwaukee stint shaped his outlook, and whether 2026 will be his 18th big-league season.

Then we shift to Tommy Pham’s comments from last night, where he stressed the need for a team-wide offensive philosophy and even pointed to Jared Triolo as someone starting to buy in. Is this really an organizational approach, or just veteran leadership trying to push change from inside the clubhouse?

Finally, we zoom out: Are the Pirates actually “close,” like Pham believes, or does Cutch have it right that ownership must finally spend to avoid wasting an elite pitching staff led by Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller?

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