Andrew McCutchen returned to action on Saturday May 5.

Andrew McCutchen (stomach flu) is not in the Pirates' lineup Friday. McCutchen had to be removed from Thursday's game due to the stomach bug, and he's apparently still feeling it. We presume that he'll be ready to roll in a day or two. Nate McLouth is handling center field Friday.

Andrew McCutchen clubbed a solo home run Monday against the Phillies. McCutchen has slumped a bit recently, but he still owns a very healthy .304 batting average (17-for-56) this spring to go along with four homers, 12 RBI and four stolen bases. While the 25-year-old saw his strikeout rate soar to 18.6 percent last season, he also established new career-highs with 23 homers and 89 RBI. He could progress even further locked into the third spot in the Pirates' batting order this season.

Andrew McCutchen connected on his second spring homer -- part of a 2-for-3 day Tuesday against the Yankees. The center fielder is in mid-season form with a .407/.467/.778 Grapefruit League batting line. If he can just keep his strikeouts down (126 last season), he could reach elite status before long.

Andrew McCutchen was a perfect 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI doubles and a run scored in Friday's 7-4 win over the Red Sox. Both doubles smacked off the newly-erected Green Monster in JetBlue Park. McCutchen, who signed a new six-year, $51.5 million extension with the Pirates last weekend, is 5-for-11 (.455) with three doubles and four RBI over his first four Grapefruit League games. Consider him a top-10 outfielder in mixed fantasy leagues.

The Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have come to terms on a six-year, $51.5 million contract, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. McCutchen wanted to exceed the deals handed to Justin Upton ($51.25 million for six years) and Jay Bruce ($51 million for six years), and he finally got the Pirates to give in after several rounds of negotiations that date back to last summer. McCutchen was under control for four more years, so this will take care of all of his arbitration years and his first two free agent seasons.

The Pirates are expected to continue negotiations on a long-term deal with Andrew McCutchen after renewing his contract Saturday. McCutchen is under team control through 2015 and the Pirates will consider buying out his arbitration years. The two sides discussed an extension throughout the offseason but were unable to come to terms. McCutchen posted an .820 OPS, 23 home runs, 89 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 2011 and projects to be paid as a top-tier center fielder.

Pirates GM Neal Huntington told a radio station that it would take a "drastic overpay" for another team to acquire outfielder Andrew McCutchen via trade. The Bucs have McCutchen under control through 2015 and are hoping to compete in that time frame. There's simply no reason to move him. 'Cutch posted an .820 OPS, 23 home runs, 89 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 2011. He's a Top 3 fantasy center fielder.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is "optimistic" that the team will be able to sign Andrew McCutchen to a long-term extension. "When you enter a negotiation, you're at X, the player's at Z and you work awfully hard to try to find Y," Huntington said. "There has to be a compromise, there has to be a shared risk on both sides." The two sides discussed an extension on a couple different occasions during the 2011 season but were unable to come together on anything. It's not a pressing issue at this point, as McCutchen isn't eligible for arbitration until after next season and won't be slated for free agency until after 2015.

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have not entertained offers for Andrew McCutchen and have no plans to do so.