Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star center field Andrew McCutchen has three seasons left on his contract but expressed that he’s open to another deal.
McCutchen, a five-time All-Star, said Monday that he is interested in spending his entire career with Pittsburgh.
“I think you know that answer,” McCutchen said while fielding questions after reporting to spring training in Bradenton, Fla. “I don’t need to answer that, really. But everyone knows I want to be here. So that’s nothing new to anyone.”
The timing of when to hammer out an extension might prove interesting. McCutcheon has two years remaining on a six-year, $51.5 million deal he signed in March, 2012.
He will make $13 million this season and $14 million in 2017. The Pirates hold a club option that pays $14.5 million in 2018.
McCutchen, 29, doesn’t rank among the game’s 20 highest-paid outfielders and that gap will widen over the next few seasons.
“I don’t know what my market value is,” McCutchen said. “I haven’t discussed that with my agent. So I still stick with the (idea that) money doesn’t define me because it doesn’t. But it’s not altered like that in this game.
“No one plays for free. People rarely ever work for free. But you know, whenever that time comes, that time comes. But I’m trying not to think about it too much.”
McCutchen batted .292 with 23 homers and 96 RBIs last season. He was National League MVP in 2013 when he hit .317 with 21 homers and 84 RBIs.