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BRADENTON, Fla. — Andrew McCutchen believed he and the Pirates had an agreement. When he no longer felt he was fit to be the everyday center fielder, McCutchen would let the team know.
Instead, management beat him to it.
On Friday, McCutchen reported to spring training for the first time as a right fielder. Starling Marte, who won Gold Gloves in left field the past two seasons, will take over in center.
After evaluating the outfield during the offseason, management decided in late January to change the alignment. McCutchen said he was shocked when manager Clint Hurdle gave him the news.
“At one point, it was my call. When I was ready to go to right, it was on me,” McCutchen said. “This was more like, ‘This is something you have to do.' It wasn't an ask.”
McCutchen's first reaction was to rebel.
“That's one of the first times when that was something I wanted to go against,” he said. “It wasn't something I was ready for or something I wanted to do. But, as I'm saying that, I'm talking about myself. I had to not be as selfish and just accept that's what I have to do and move over to right.”
Losing his job in center — the only position he has played in the majors — was only part of a turbulent offseason for McCutchen. The front office mulled trade offers for him and came close to swinging a deal with the Washington Nationals during the winter meetings in December.
Although those talks collapsed, McCutchen said he has not been given any assurances by the front office that he won't eventually be traded.
“I talked with upper management after it was all over,” McCutchen said, then paused to choose his words more carefully. “Well … after the winter meetings. I wouldn't say it's all over. After the winter meetings were over, I talked to those guys, and they expressed how they feel about what they did. That was that.”
McCutchen is done fretting about whether he'll finish his career with the Pirates.
“We all have expectations,” he said. “Nine times out of 10, life never goes that way. The dream is to be in a Pirates uniform, playing center field until I can't play it anymore, winning countless World Series, MVPs and All-Stars and all that stuff. That's great, but reality hits.
“Life doesn't always go the way you planned it to go. Sometimes you have detours you have to take. But, in the end, it's always going to take you where you need to go.”
Hurdle said there could be “opportunities” for McCutchen to spell Marte in center field this season.
“He unequivocally believes he can still play center,” Hurdle said. “We talked about that. Andrew played some of the best center field he's ever played last season. This is more about us having one of the elite defenders in the game (Marte) and how do we best make our team better with the personnel we have.”
McCutchen appears to have come to terms with that, and his teammates have taken notice.
“That's who he is. We expect nothing less,” shortstop Jordy Mercer said. “We know he's going to put the team first. He's still our leader. There's no doubt about it. He's still the guy who runs this team. We're going to jump on his back, and he's going to take us wherever he wants. It's nice to have that type of leadership, that type of person around.”
After turning 30 in October, McCutchen would figure to have several productive seasons ahead of him. Yet, he is aware moving out of center field signals a shift in leadership.
“I'm going to help any way I can, even in right field,” McCutchen said. “But Marte is the center fielder, so he's going to have to take that job. He's going to have to be that guy who leads. He's going to have to step up. I'm sure he knows and understands that. I'm sure he'll do that.”
The new outfield alignment is a fait accompli, but McCutchen still has some say in how he plays.
Last year, management chose to position all the outfielders shallower than before — a decision McCutchen insists is at least partly responsible for his regressing defensive metrics. This season, McCutchen expects to play at his usual depth.
“I'm going to play comfortable,” he said. “I learned from that mistake last year.”
Rob Biertempfel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.
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