Pirates planning to bench Andrew McCutchen for entire Braves series
Manager Clint Hurdle doesn't even want to use McCutchen as a pinch-hitter
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
Tuesday night, when the Pirates opened their three-game series with the Braves in Atlanta, they did so without Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen was on the bench -- he didn't even pinch-hit -- in his club's 5-3 win (box score).
The day off for McCutchen came after the Pirates had a team off-day Monday, which was a little curious. As it turns out, manager Clint Hurdle is planning to sit McCutchen for entire series against the Braves this week.
#pirates Hurdle said he'd prefer not to use McCutchen at all, even as pinch-hitter, in this series.
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) August 3, 2016
It's unclear why Hurdle is sitting McCutchen the entire series -- I'm certain the front office had input in that decision too, benching the team's star player is a big deal -- but my guess it's a "mental break" situation. The 2016 season has been a real grind for McCutchen.
In 97 games this year, McCutchen is hitting .241/.311/.408 (91 OPS+) with 18 doubles and 15 home runs. That's a far cry from the .292/.401/.488 (143 OPS+) batting line he put up last year, and the .313/.404/.523 (157 OPS+) line he averaged from 2012-15.
There's also this:
This is McCutchen's monthly exit velocity. Whatever reason the Pirates have for sitting him right now, I get it. pic.twitter.com/tuSP0C7bNs
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 3, 2016
McCutchen is not hitting the ball all that hard anymore, and at this point, it feels like only a matter of time until we find out he has been playing through some sort of injury all season. He's still only 29, remember. It's tough to believe a player this talented has seen his skills decline so sharply due to regular old age.
The Pirates come into Wednesday with a 53-51 record. They're 2 1/2 games back of the second wild-card spot, and it goes without saying they need McCutchen to hit like the guy he has been the last few years if they want to qualify for the postseason again.
