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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 players who need to bounce back in 2021

By David Esser

Sep 16, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Scott Kingery (4) scores as New York Mets catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is unable to make the play at home plate during the second inning of the game at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Scott Kingery (4) scores as New York Mets catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is unable to make the play at home plate during the second inning of the game at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Philadelphia Phillies Andrew McCutchen
Sep 23, 2020; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) hits a double against the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Andrew McCutchen, OF

Long gone are the days of Andrew McCutchen being an everyday player out in left field, but if he wants to play a sustainable role for the Phillies in 2021, he’s going to need to see his bat return to the likes of what it was in 2019.

Prior to Cutch’s ACL injury a third of the way into the 2019 season, he was having a pretty sensational debut year with the Phillies. He had an OBP of .378 operating out of the leadoff spot, and his OPS sat at an .834. His defense wasn’t anything special, but he was still getting the job done.

Following a brutal ACL rehab, Cutch returned to the Phillies lineup not really the same player in 2020. HIs OPS dipped down to .757, and his defense fell off a cliff.

At 34 years of age, McCutchen isn’t going to magically revert back to his former MVP self. However, he’d provide a huge boost to the Phillies lineup if his OPS could start creeping back up towards the .800 mark. His defense will likely remain a liability moving forward (fingers crossed the NL gets the DH again), but he can definitely make up for that with better production at the plate. He was a walk machine in 2019 – that’s something that can be replicated even as he gets up there in age.

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