Pittsburgh Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen returned to the lineup after a brief absence last week but admitted he was playing through a left knee injury that was only 70 percent healed. Now that troublesome knee will cost the former MVP additional games as the Pirates placed McCutchen on the 10-day injured list, per the team account on X.
The Pirates have the second-worst record in baseball since returning from the All-Star break, behind only the Chicago White Sox entering play on Saturday. The team snapped a 10-game losing streak on Friday thanks to a quality start from NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Paul Skenes.
Unfortunately, despite the win, the Pirates lost McCutchen during the game when he aggravated his knee running the bases in the seventh inning. He landed on the IL with inflammation in his left knee, according to ESPN.
The Pirates lost Andrew McCutchen to the injured list
The 37-year-old five-time All-Star had been playing through pain despite the Pirates’ lost season. Pittsburgh is seven games below .500 and 12.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. The team is 6.5 games back in the National League Wild Card race with six teams ahead of them for the final playoff berth.
While McCutchen has been a leader in the clubhouse all season for a young Pirates team, the 16-year veteran has been a leader on the field as well of late. McCutchen was in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak and is slashing .367/.459/.700 in August, per Tribune-Review Sports’ Kevin Gorman on X.
On the season, McCutchen has 16 home runs, 40 RBI, 59 runs scored with a .741 OPS and an OPS+ of 108. He’s up to 1.0 WAR in 101 games for the Pirates this year.
After a solid season for the Pirates in 2023, McCutchen signed a one-year, $5 million deal to stay with the team in 2024. He hit his 300th home run this season and is now up to 315 homers and 219 steals in his career.
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