Pirates' aggressiveness at trade deadline shocked McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen spent nine seasons as a fixture of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the face of the franchise, and one of the best players to ever wear the yellow and black.

The team reached the postseason three times during his tenure but never made aggressive additions at the trade deadline until this year - the first season he spent with a different organization.

"It was definitely surprising to see because they've never done that before, at least when I was there," McCutchen told Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports this weekend. "Yeah, they made trades when I was there, but nothing like getting an ace starter.

"You either change with the times, or you get left behind. Maybe they were tired of getting left behind."

The Pirates acquired right-hander Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays and reliever Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers before the non-waiver trade deadline. On Monday, they added shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria.

It's a decided departure from the offseason, in which the Pirates appeared to commit to a rebuild by unloading McCutchen and former ace Gerrit Cole in a pair of trades and didn't sign a single major-league free agent. Now, they're in the thick of a crowded NL playoff race.

At 57-56, Pittsburgh is narrowly edging McCutchen's new team, the San Francisco Giants (57-57), in the wild-card standings. With the Giants facing an uncertain home stretch, the 31-year-old's name has popped up in trade rumors once more.

In 110 games with the Giants, McCutchen's hit .263/.358/.421 with 12 home runs.