The Pirates announced this morning that they had activated veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Rodolfo Castro was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
McCutchen’s return should help to boost a Pirates offense that desperately needs a spark. After a hot 20-8 start to open the season, the club has cratered to a 41-51 record that puts in fourth place in the NL Central, 9.5 games back of the division-leading Brewers. That free-fall in the standings can be primarily attributed to an offense that ranks dead last in the majors since May 1 with a wRC+ of just 79, 21% below league average. As the team’s offense has slumped, McCutchen has maintained solid production with a .275/.399/.398 slash line in 208 plate appearances since the start of May.
While McCutchen’s steady veteran presence and an injection of youth from the likes of Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales have helped to steady the club’s offense somewhat, the Pirates will need improved performance from star outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who has slashed just .150/.209/.250 since returning from low back inflammation earlier this month. That performance has dropped his drop his wRC+ to just 109 this season, a far cry from the 133 wRC+ he offered the past two seasons.
More from around the NL Central…
- The Brewers announced today that they had placed third baseman Brian Anderson on the 10-day IL with a low back strain. It’s been a difficult season for Anderson as the 30 year old has slashed just .229/.317/.373 with a wRC+ of 90 in 85 games this season while acting as Milwaukee’s primary third baseman. Replacing Anderson on the roster is infielder Jahmai Jones, who kicked his Brewers career off by going 2-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base in five trips to the plate after signing with the club on a major league deal earlier this month. Infielder Andruw Monasterio figures to handle the hot corner while Anderson is on the shelf, with Jones sliding into Monasterio’s typical utility role.
- Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson is eligible to come off the IL for the first time today after suffering a left heel contusion just before the All-Star break. That being said, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma relays that manager David Ross expects Swanson to be out for a least a little while longer. According to Ross, while Swanson’s heel improved over the break, he still is feeling “some pain” when running the bases. While Swanson is on the shelf, Nico Hoerner has slid from second base to shortstop, opening up the keystone for Christopher Morel.
Not the subject, but don’t think that the Cubs will make the playoffs this season. They should approach the deadline with that mindset.
IMO whether or not they make the playoffs, any moves they make should be with major consideration for the 2024 season. Whatever happens this season is basically irrelevant at this point.
Resigning Belli and Stroman would help, but first they need to create financial and positional flexibility (open an OF spot for Morel) for that to happen. Trading a current starting OFer (not named Bellinger) would address both issues. And there are teams like the Nats that might be happy to help accommodate that. Look for a team needing an OF upgrade. And hopefully strengthen the Cubs 3B situation in the process.
They will def trade off Stroman,Belli and some relievers barring them going on a big hot streak in the immediate future.
We will know in two weeks. After today, the Cubs have three at home with the Nationals, a pair crosstown with the Sox, and eight with the Cardinals. If they can’t get over .500 by then, Jed will probably start selling.
Making matters tougher is the Brewers and Reds playing each other four times in that timespan. Hard to make up ground unless the two teams in front of them split their games.
Castro going to Indy should be a wake-up call to other players that aren’t producing
Suwinski, having gone through yet another slump, striking out 3 times alone yesterday isn’t in the lineup today
It’s a toss up of how many innings Bido pitches today because he’s really a mediocre reliever and not a starter
Totally agree on your take on Bido and Castro, but I don’t get your dislike of Suwinski. He’s a typical modern day outfielder with decent pop who strikes out often, but has good athletic ability that reflects in good baserunning and fielding.
Suwinski really needs a private hitting coach this off season. He’s a good glove and yes, he has the ability to hit homers but way too many of his at bats are ugly. He’s either taking too many pitches in the strike zone or he’s swinging at breaking balls in the dirt.
But the Pirates have no recourse. There is no other outfielder with both the defensive chops and ability to get hot and drive in runs. Cutch coming back has to be a positive because Reynolds has looked like a shadow of what he was a couple seasons ago.
And Bido? His starts are essentially bullpen games now. Why do they bother?
Suwinski leads the league in strikeouts looking. He obviously doesn’t have knowledge of the strike zone for that stat to be true
I wish he would swing at pitches in the zone instead of swinging erratically
Yes he has raw power but the bat has to meet the ball for that to happen and more often than not, it doesn’t
Jack is 28% above the average MLB hitter this season according to Fangraphs and BBRef. He’s currently on 1.7 FWAR and 2.2 BWAR – projecting to be something like 4 wins above replacement as a semi-platoon player.
I think you guys are being incredibly harsh on a possible future superstar.
Possible doesn’t make him one now
Terrier, I like the upside of Suwinski but Jim Bouton said it best about stats. I’ll leave it at that
If you watch the games, there’s far more legitimacy in the eye test than in the statistical gobblety-gook that analytics nerds want to throw my way
Let me say this in a respectful manner: I couldn’t care less about your stats. Please watch the games
Future superstar? But that very word either conjures up visions of Tony Gwynn in a true hitter sense or a Willie Stargell in a power sense
And he’s not the combination of both that a Barry Bonds was here
I hope he ascends to the level you make note of but he has a long way to go
No… but he IS a very useful MLB player already. Give the guy a break 🙂
Corn – So stats don’t mean anything and your own personal ‘eye test’ is what made Gwynn and Stargell Hall of Famers?
Or is it because Gwynn had amazing batting average stats and Stargell was statistically a top 5% all time power hitter?
Stats have been the basis of baseball since the days of Elysian Fields in Hobeken. – you just don’t like the newest ones.
I don’t care about comparing Sueinski’s stats versus other outfielders, this team lacks offense, and striking out often isn’t scoring runs
That said Connor Joe is second on the team in strikeouts while looking and is horrible against righties. It’s the bottom of the 7th and against a righty, Joe strikes out looking.
Why not use Suwinski as a pinch hitter for Joe?
Could it be because Shelton doesn’t have enough confidence in him?
It’s because Shelton is incompetent.
You won’t get an argument from me about Shelton
His lineups are pulled out of his hat and misuses the pitching staff
But I also blame Andy Haines, the hitting coach
This team has regressed from last year’s offense and like last year, scoring runs is a huge problem
and his incompetence is once again proven when he allowed Joe to bat against a right handed pitcher and didn’t use Suwinski to pinch hit for him in a tie game
You’re missing the point. I didn’t say “stats don’t mean anything”. You’re using pretzel logic here. Stargell was a guy who was prone to striking out a lot and was often a sucker for curveballs in the dirt. Parker, too
But they were much more consistent than homer or strikeout scenarios. And they were much more clutch in big situations and had much better plate discipline
The eye test alone isn’t the answer, or course. But watch the games and put the analytics into proper context
I should add that the best hitters I’ve seen in Pirates uniforms during my fandom would range from Clemente, to Bonds. Generational superstars
But guys like Mike Easler, Andy VanSlyke, Bobby Bonilla, Bill Madlock, Al Oliver, Cutch were/are guys who were dangerous hitters no matter their stats or who was on the mound
There were others, of course
You didn’t need stats or analytics to bear that out. Perhaps that’s the problem here. Many of us have watched the Pirates game in and game out for years to know a player’s talents. All too often, analytics are telling us to disbelieve what we see
Again, I think Suwinski has a great deal of promise and I hope someone can refine his plate discipline. But analytics in any form aren’t going to convince me that he’s going to be a superstar just yet
Yes, you did say stats don’t mean anything.
I watch most of the games like you do, but I don’t think I’ve got a scout level understanding of baseball so I rely on what the best statistical websites make of the players I’m watching.
No, I said I didn’t care about your analytics. And Jim Bouton (Yankees pitcher and author) once said, “Tell your statistics to shut up”
I can relate the numerical funk Suwinski, Bae, Castro and Hedges were in just prior to the break. Something like 0 for 94. That’s remarkable and yet, some would say that analytics have these guys playing at optimum level
Stats play a role when looking at the overall performance of a given player. But cmon, they don’t tell the entire story. That’s all
That comment means nothing at all.
You could’ve typed ….’LALALALALALAALALALALALALAALALALA’
and it would’ve had as much meaning.
As I said previously, no disrespect was meant towards you hence I didn’t or wouldn’t write in such a condescending manner
TheMan3 could quote you that Jack is hitting .228 and has struck out 99 times in 100 at bats.
Those numbers bear out what we see on a daily basis
You’d counter with his team leading .846 OPS, as others have, or his 2.2 WAR.
There’s a great deal of writing out there as to why both are misleading analytics and I’ll let you read and reflect in between visiting those statistical sites you visit
* Has struck out 99 times in 252 at bats
and over a 162 game season, he’d strike out 198 times
The amount of at-bats is irrelevant because he walks a lot.
Suwinski’s strike out rate is awful at approx 30%, but that’s similar to what Judge did in his first three years in MLB.
For someone who said….
‘If you watch the games, there’s far more legitimacy in the eye test than in the statistical gobblety-gook that analytics nerds want to throw my way
Let me say this in a respectful manner: I couldn’t care less about your stats.’
… you seem very keen to use your own stats to try to prove a point.
You’re using pretzel logic again, but that’s fine.
You win
when Suwinski starts hitting like Judge then the comparison will have value
And while he’s drawn more walks this year, they still don’t compare to swings and misses he’s accumulated
Dude suwinsnki’s literally producing at an above average level right now. He may not turn into a perennial all star level talent but his contributions are nothing to sneeze at as is. Most teams would be pretty glad to have that kind of production at league minimum.
do those contributions include the 3 times he struck out in Saturday’s game, twice while looking?
I would love to see him improve his hitting and show power that turns a single into a double but he swings at pitches in the dirt then doesn’t swing at pitches in the strike zone
Not saying he has nothing to work on or adjustments to make to maintain success. But seriously you could cherry pick a lousy game at the plate for like any hitter in the league. It does look like suwinski could stand to cut down on K rate and improve the swing and miss rate in his offensive game but overall he is still clearly producing at an above average rate despite it.
Showcasing McCutchen before the deadline to maybe get a return of someone above A ball. If they can’t move him, expect a DFA
The pirates aren’t going to DFA McCutchen
Cutch isn’t going anywhere, Slider
Nutting recently said he’s not making the same mistake twice. Cutch is a fan favorite and puts them in the stands
Nutting is a businessman first and foremost
Be realistic. Only four teams separate the Pirates and the A’s as far as putrid attendance. No one is putting them in the stands.
Cutch would retire before leaving Pittsburgh. He’s made it very clear that he wants to be at home for his family.
Attendance has increased this year Slider, every time Cutch’s name is announced the fans give him a rousing tribute
Cutch approached Nutting last winter to return and Nutting jumped at the opportunity to bring him back
You’re almost worth being muted but I enjoy teaching you facts too often to bother
The attendance this year is averaging almost 5000 more fans per game than last year Slider
It’s called google. Try using it sometime
You really don’t know much about this franchise or Cutch for that matter
Slider knows plenty, but is a troll.
RE: Anderson’s difficult season. Offensively maybe, but he’s been playing Gold Glove caliber defense at 3rd.
And now they just announced Tellez has a broken finger, so his IL stay is extended.
Marcano is another one that needs to go back to Indy. He’s been a huge disappointment and also swings at pitches out of the strike zone
Then there’s Delay that strikes out on a pitch that bounced before reaching home plate