The Pirates introduced that Andrew McCutchen has been positioned on the 10-day injured record attributable to left knee irritation, and infielder Alika Williams was known as up from Triple-A to take McCutchen’s spot on the 26-man roster. Ryan Palencer of the Bucs On Deck web site (X hyperlink) was the primary to report yesterday that Williams was headed again to the majors, after McCutchen was faraway from Friday’s sport attributable to left knee discomfort.
Whereas there’s no really good time for an damage, the knee drawback arises at a very unlucky juncture for McCutchen, because the veteran was within the midst of his hottest stretch of the season. McCutchen has hit .281/.375/.483 with 4 dwelling runs over his final 104 plate appearances, boosting his total slash line to .235/.336/.405 in 437 PA. That works out to an 109 wRC+ and one more yr of above-average manufacturing — now in his sixteenth MLB season, Cutch has solely as soon as dipped under the 100 wRC+ common threshold, as he slowed to a 97 wRC+ when enjoying with the Brewers in 2022.
Dropping McCutchen to the IL is one other blow to a reeling Pirates crew. The Bucs’ 5-3 win over the Mariners yesterday snapped a 10-game dropping streak that every one however ended the membership’s probabilities of snagging an NL wild card berth. Even that win was bittersweet attributable to McCutchen’s damage, which occurred whereas he was operating to first base after hitting a single within the seventh inning.
Aside from handful of appearances in proper area, the 37-year-old McCutchen has been utilized virtually solely as a chosen hitter over his two-season return to Pittsburgh. The Pirates will in all probability simply shuffle a number of gamers via the DH spot to attempt to make up for Cutch’s absence, whereas additionally giving extra at-bats to some youthful gamers in what has all of the sudden turn into one other analysis interval through the crew’s prolonged rebuild. McCutchen can hopefully be again in brief order to place a constructive coda onto his season, and proceed to set himself up for one other contract in 2025.