At 39 years old, Andrew McCutchen faces a tough reality: Baseball might be done with him. After a rough end to his Pirates career, Andrew McCutchen thought that it could be better in Texas. But things weren’t easy there either, and it looks like that uneasy run has come to an end.

“Andrew McCutchen designated for assignment by the Rangers,” reported Underdog MLB after the report came out.

The Rangers’ offense has been struggling. After getting swept by the Angels and shut out by the Astros, the Texas Rangers seem to be removing dead weight from the team. Cutting a veteran like McCutchen just 54 games into the season wasn’t just a small tweak. It was an urgent move because he simply couldn’t hit. As his replacement, Rangers president Chris Young said that they have signed veteran utility infielder Nicky Lopez.

With the Rangers’ offense looking bad, they needed to make this move. They have signed Lopez, hoping his defensive versatility and decent bat could stabilize an injury-hit roster. Lopez played infield both in Colorado and Chicago before eventually landing here. While in the minors, he hit .333 across 15 games before Chicago briefly promoted him.

While that was happening, McCutchen never looked settled in Texas.

During this short stint, the veteran never found his footing. He opened the season hitting .429 in five games with one homer and two doubles. But since April, McCutchen has an average of .145 with no extra-base hits across 72 at-bats.

Texas mostly used McCutchen against left-handed pitching, and this might have limited his rhythm and not given him consistent chances, but even without that, McCutchen was on a 0-11 slump.

And this is how the last few years have played out for the veteran. His relationship with the Pittsburgh Pirates became strained after major confusion during the offseason about his spot on the team. The Pirates never really explained what role McCutchen was going to play with the team or if he was in their plans.

Although a Pirates official said, “The Pirates screwed up,” the damage was done.

McCutchen posted on his socials saying, “Rip the jersey off me,” showing confidence in the future of his career. After this nasty breakup, the Pirates went out and signed Ryan O’Hearn, showing that they were trying to move away from McCutchen and trying to build a decent team around Paul Skenes.

At 39 years old, McCutchen now has to face another difficult news after a terrible Rangers stint. With the Rangers, the veteran had an average of just .192 with 5 RBIs in 37 games. McCutchen has been hitless in his last 5 games and has just 2 hits in the last 10. But this slump is not just about the last 2 seasons.

Since 2023, McCutchen has had an average of just .239 and just 46 homers, but has struck out 373 times. And his OPS has been dropping exponentially with every season. Let’s be clear, the Rangers brought in McCutchen hoping his veteran presence could help their struggling offense. But with injuries mounting and the offensive production not getting any better, the Texas Rangers had to go looking for bats that could make an impact, and that is all this move was.

Now, this raises a big question about Andrew McCutchen and his future in baseball. He might have said, “There’s more work to do, and I’m not done,” while leaving the Pirates. But it looks like we are getting close to the end with each passing day.

Have we seen the last of Andrew McCutchen in MLB?

During the offseason, the Texas Rangers made a feel-good move, signing Andrew McCutchen for $1.25 million. After impressing during camp, the former MVP earned an Opening Day roster spot despite joining camp late.

But just 54 games into the season, the Rangers decided to designate McCutchen for assignment. His struggles became difficult to ignore after his average dropped to .192 with 1 homer across 83 plate appearances.

The move now leaves Texas with 7 days to decide McCutchen’s immediate future within the organization. The Rangers can trade him, release him, or outright him to the minor-league until they need him. And this will be very crucial for McCutchen’s future.

Because finding another major-league spot could be difficult after Andrew McCutchen, teams might not even use him as a pinch-hit option, as the Rangers used him only twice to pinch-hit. But struggling teams like the Marlins or the Rockies could continue valuing his leadership skills and use him as a way to guide young players through difficult stretches.

But it is hard to give a roster spot to someone hitting under .200 when it takes playing time away from young prospects. With a .537 OPS and his power dropping fast over the last three years, retirement is suddenly looking like a very real possibility.

If this truly is McCutchen’s final baseball chapter, his legacy in MLB is already written. For many fans, it was emotional to see his downfall with the Pirates, and some even wanted him to end his career as they knew things would get difficult. But even during difficult seasons, McCutchen remained respected throughout clubhouses because teammates praised his professionalism and leadership.

If this is the end, McCutchen will end his career with 5 All-Star selections, 2013 NL MVP, and 333 homers. And with youngsters like Ke’Bryan Hayes, who have talked about their experience and how McCutchen has helped them at times, it is a testament to his legacy.

Whether another contract arrives or not, McCutchen’s impact in baseball remains impossible to ignore.