Getty Andrew McCutchen goes down after a knee injury last night against the San Diego Padres.
Philadelphia Phillie’s center fielder Andrew McCutchen went down last night after a dinky infield fly lead to a chase down and a non-contact knee injury for the former all-star.
UPDATE: Andrew McCutchen has torn his ACL and is out of the season, per the MRI that was taken on Tuesday.
Phillies center fielder Andrew McCutchen has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season
San Diego Padres’ second baseman Ian Kinsler decided to let an easy infield fly drop, so he could attempt to turn a double play. Although Kinsler and the Padres were able to turn-two, it cost the Phillies one of their most reliable players.
Andrew McCutchen has exited today’s game with an injury and had to be helped off the field.
McCutchen, typically the lead-off hitter for Philadelphia, is currently hitting .256/.378/.457 with 10 home runs, 29 RBI and 45 runs.
Here’s what you need to know about his injury:
1. McCutchen’s MRI Said He Tore His ACL – Out for the Season
As of Tuesday at 7:00PM EST, Andrew McCutchen has a torn ACL and is out for the season.
After the game, McCutchen offered some perspective on the injury referencing his past ACL injury which he experienced in high school.
“If it was blown out they would have been like, ‘Hey, your knee is torn,'” McCutchen said. “I didn’t get that information. They’re not certain with whatever they feel because everything feels good, but they’d rather me go in to get the MRI just to see if there’s something more.”
NBC Philadelphia reports that McCutchen, at the very least, has a sprained knee and will likely spend some time on the IL.
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2. After the Game McCutchen Said He Wasn’t Worried About His Condition
Although McCutchen needed some assistance getting off of the field after injuring his knee, the 32-year-old five-time all-star told reporters he could feel better tomorrow.
GettyAndrew McCutchen being helped off of the field after hurting his knee during a game versus the San Diego Padres.
“I have no clue,” he said answering if he thought he would need to go on the injured list. “I could wake up tomorrow and feel better.
“The mobility is there, but it is sore. I’m not going to lie,” McCutchen added.
3. McCutchen Took to Twitter to ask for Prayers
After talking optimistically with reporters about his knee, Cutch did take to Twitter to ask for support.
Pray for me. Please
“Pray for me. Please,” McCutchen posted to Twitter.
If worst comes to worst, the Phillies do have a backup plan if McCutchen ends up on the injury list.
Andrew McCutchen will go for an MRI. Adam Haseley will join the Phillies in San Diego tomorrow.
NBC Philadelphia reports the Phillies are prepared to send their 2017 first-round draft pick outfielder Adam Haseley to San Diego to finish up the six-game west coast road trip.
4. Phillies Continue to Face Injury Troubles Throughout Their Team
McCutchen is just the latest to the string of injuries the Phillies have faced this season. Outside of Odubel Herrera’s arrest, and him being put on administrative leave, the Phils are missing several key contributors to their bullpen.
According to the Philly Voice, the Phils are missing Zach Eflin, Edubray Ramos, David Robertson, Adam Morgan, Victor Arano, Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek from their pitching staff and Roman Quinn from their outfield.
With Quinn and Eflin expected to return June 7th and Arano expected back at the start of August, the Phillies will hope McCutchen’s injury will put him back on the field in between those dates as the rest of the players on their IL plan to be back between June 7 and August 1.
5. The Phillies Have Gone Cold, Losing Five Straight and Six out of the Last Eight
Although the Phillies have done their best to remedy their slew of injuries with the signing of former Seattle outfielder Jay Bruce, they have been slumping recently.
Philadelphia has lost five straight and are currently 2-6 in the last eight games. Their division lead on the Atlanta Braves has slipped down to a half a game and they are hitting an atrocious .168 in the past four games.
The string of bad luck has really peaked for the Phils, as the play that led to McCutchen’s injury was, to put it plainly, avoidable.
Prime Jean Segura not running this one out, double play and McCutchen gets hurt #goodridence #Mariners
With McCutchen on first-base after a lead-off walk, Jean Segura popped up to Ian Kinsler before the Padres’ second baseman decided to let it drop at an attempt at a double-play. Manager Gabe Bruce was not pleased with the way Segura sauntered out of the box, after hitting the infield fly.
“Jean and I discussed it after the game,” Kapler told reporters. “He did slip out of the batter’s box. He didn’t run his hardest out of the batter’s box. He owned that. He was an absolute professional about it. He didn’t make any excuses for it. He says it won’t happen again.”
McCutchen didn’t have any hard feelings towards Segura who has owned up to his mistake.
“I was replaying it in my head and just thinking about what I could have done different,” McCutchen said. “I always think about that stuff. I didn’t know Jean wasn’t close (to first base). Had I known he wasn’t close, I would have stayed on the bag and stood there. I didn’t know. It was kind of like the golden retriever going after a stick. The ball drops and I’m going. Replay it, you should have did this or that.”
“At the end, it happened the way it happened and now here we are,” McCutchen added.
“Now here we are,” is the sad reality for the Phillies who potentially had the highest expectations of any team in the league with the signing of star Bryce Harper during the offseason.
With Herrea in hot water, their bullpen beat up and now their lead-off man out for the seasonwith a knee injury, the Phillies must face reality and scrap together a stellar second-half of the season to remain contenders for the National League pennant.