Pirates place Andrew McCutchen on 15-day disabled list
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed Andrew McCutchen on the 15-day disabled list, the team announced on Monday.
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The move is retroactive to Aug. 4, the last day the reigning National League Most Valuable Player played in a game after taking an awkward swing one day after being hit in the rib cage against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Pittsburgh originally planned to keep McCutchen, 27, on the active roster–and they did for a week–but with McCutchen more serious than the day-to-day variety than the club had hoped for, made the decision to disable him and not play a man down during the postseason push.
The Pirates currently hold the NL’s second Wild Card spot, with a half game lead over the San Francisco Giants and they are within striking distance of the Milwaukee Brewers, trailing the Brew Crew by 2.5 games in the competitive NL Central.
With McCutchen out of the lineup, the Pirates have played Starling Marte in center field with Travis Snider in left field and Gregory Polanco in right field.
MucCutchen’s bid for a second straight MVP undoubtedly takes a big hit as he remains sidelined with the injury.
He is hitting .311 with a .536 slugging percentage with 32 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs, 67 runs batted in and 17 steals. With McCutchen’s bid taking a hit this month as a result of the injury, it opens the door to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw perhaps in position to win the Cy Young and the MVP.
In a corresponding move, the Pirates recalled right handed pitcher Casey Sadler form triple-A Indianapolis.