Philadelphia Phillies’ center fielder Andrew McCutchen suffered a left knee injury in Monday’s loss to the San Diego Padres. While the severity of the injury is still unknown, McCutchen tweeted asking for his followers to “pray for me. Please”. This obviously isn’t encouraging for the former MVP and first-year Philly.
Update: McCutchen did, in fact, tear his ACL and will be out for the season
Pray for me. Please
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) June 4, 2019
Philadelphia Phillies Andrew McCutchen Injures Knee, Asks For Prayers
As of this posting, the public is still waiting for the results of the MRI to learn the true extent of the injury. For what it’s worth, McCutchen doesn’t believe this to be an ACL injury, noting that he “had an ACL injury before and I know what that feels like. This doesn’t feel like that.”
Manager Gabe Kapler said that Adam Haseley will earn a promotion should the injury sideline McCutchen for an extended period of time. Haseley started the season in Double-A but recently earned a promotion to the Triple-A level. In 47 games between the two levels, Haseley owns a .275/.358/.466 slash line with a 136 wRC+.
Andrew McCutchen was in the midst of a strong season prior to his injury. Appearing in 59 games, the center fielder recorded a .256/.378/.457 slash line with an accompanying 124 wRC+. His fielding and baserunning metrics graded out positively and the former MVP currently has a 1.7 fWAR.
McCutchen initially climbed through the ranks as a prospect with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The righty made his debut back in 2009, posting an impressive .286/.365/.471 slash line in 493 plate appearances. His impressive season earned him a fourth-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting.
McCutchen had an encouraging 2010 season before developing into one of the better center fielders in baseball from 2011 to 2015. Over that five-year stretch, the center fielder posted a .302/.396/.509 slash line in 3,358 plate appearances. Over that stretch of time, he made five All-Star team, won four Silver Slugger awards, one Gold Glove, and earned MVP honors in 2013. He also had three other top-five MVP finishes.
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