Andrew

McCutchen

Nimmo missed Saturday’s game with a nagging hamstring injury. Since he’s DHing, that means Joc Pederson is out of the lineup tonight. Andrew McCutchen is starting in the outfield for the third time this season.

McCutchen gets a chance to face Athletics lefty Jeffrey Springs on Saturday afternoon with Joc Pederson heading to the bench. The 39-year-old has played sparingly this season, hitting .242 (8-for-33) with one homer and five RBI in 17 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter.

While Pederson starts against most right-handers, he’ll get a breather in this one against his former squad while Andrew McCutchen starts in his place as the designated hitter and will bat fifth against Tyler Glasnow. Look for Pederson to return to action at some point over the weekend.

With left-hander Trevor Rogers on the mound, the Rangers will sit a few of their left-handed hitters. Smith has made one start this season against a lefty, but has sat out the last two. Andrew McCutchen will start in right field and bat fifth, Ezequiel Duran will start at second base and hit eighth, and Sam Haggerty will start in left field and bat ninth.

Both hits came off Jesús Luzardo. McCutchen heated up quickly after signing with the Rangers earlier this month, and it’s worth wondering if he might turn this DH platoon with Joc Pederson into a full-time spot for himself. It seems like Pederson deserves a real look first, but he did not have good spring numbers on the heels of his disastrous 2025. He’s 0-for-2 with a walk through three games, but both of his balls in play have been hard hit, with one leaving his bat at 110 mph. McCutchen is 4-for-9 with four RBI while drawing the start both times the Phillies threw lefties.

Season No. 18 for McCutchen, who wound up 9-for-21 with a homer and six walks this spring. He did play left field a couple of times in Grapefruit action, but he’ll likely mostly be employed as a DH against lefties for now.

McCutchen earns a spot on Texas’ season-opening roster as a bench bat after hitting a blistering .444 (8-for-18) with three doubles in seven Cactus League contests this spring after signing a minor league pact earlier this month. The 39-year-old longtime Pirates icon will kick off his 18th season in the majors later this week, splitting time with Joc Pederson at DH for the Rangers.

Pretty much everyone feasted on Padres pitching today, but McCutchen especially needs the hits after his late addition to the competition for a spot on the Rangers bench. He’s opened up 6-for-9 with three doubles and four walks.

Perhaps it’s as simple as giving the Rangers a more-threatening right-handed platoon option for Joc Pederson. McCutchen hit .284/.366/.433 in 36 starts against left-handers last year, but just .239/.333/.367 overall. Entering his age-39 season, McCutchen doesn’t have any real fantasy value outside of playing him in daily transaction leagues against a left-handed starter. He also is by no means guaranteed to make the Rangers based on the date of his signing and the minor-league deal.

The 39-year-old franchise staple took to social media on Saturday to express his frustration with the Pirates, noting that if this is going to be his last season, he would have liked to participate in Fanfest and go out on his terms with a proper farewell tour. It sounds like the radio silence from the Pirates could mean that they’re ready to move on, though an invite to the team’s FanFest still would have been a nice way for him to say goodbye to the fans one final time.