The Pirates announced that Andrew McCutchen was placed on the 10-day injured list with left knee inflammation, along with a quarterback Alika Williams was called up to Triple-A to replace McCutchen on the 26-man roster. Ryan Palencer of the Bucs On Deck site (X link) was the first to report yesterday that Williams is back in the bigs, after McCutchen was ruled out of Friday's game due to left knee discomfort.
While there's no perfect timing for an injury, the knee problem comes at a bad time for McCutchen, as the veteran was in the midst of his hottest season. McCutchen hit .281/.375/.483 with four home runs over his last 104 plate appearances, raising his overall slash line to .235/.336/.405 in 437 PA. That works out to a 109 wRC+ and another year of above-average production – now in his 16th MLB season, Cutch has already dipped below the 100 wRC+ mark, as he dropped to a 97 wRC+ when he played with the Brewers in 2022. .
Losing McCutchen to the IL is another blow for the Pirates. The Bucs' 5-3 victory yesterday ended a 10-game losing streak for the club, which was relegated from the NL. That win was also marred by McCutchen's injury, which occurred while running to first base after a single in the seventh inning.
Despite limited appearances in right field, McCutchen, 37, has been used almost as the designated hitter during his two seasons back in Pittsburgh. The Pirates will be moving more players to the DH spot to try to replace Cutch, and give other young players at-bats in what has become another evaluation period while the team rebuilds. McCutchen can hopefully return soon to put a good coda to his season, and continue to set himself another contract in 2025.
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