Philadelphia Phillies: A healthy Andrew McCutchen could be the key in ’21

One of the Philadelphia Phillies marquee acquisitions during the 2019 offseason, Andrew McCutchen was supposed to play a fairly large role for the team between the years of 2019 and 2022. Joining the likes of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and Jean Segura that offseason, the logic was that Philadelphia had built themselves a loaded offense capable of vaulting them back into the postseason.

Two years later, and that idea has yet to become a reality.

To little fault of Cutch’s, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirate has simply not been the All-Star caliber outfielder that the Phillies thought they were getting. Obviously this is primarily due to the fact that he tore his ACL just 59 games into the 2019 season, an injury that had lingering effects all throughout 2020.

Creeping into his mid-30s, defense was already starting to become a quiet concern for Cutch out in left field. Throw in a recently reconstructed ACL, and McCutchen spent most of 2020 “DHing” as opposed to actually playing in the outfield.

More from Section 215

• 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
• Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
• 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
• Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
• Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles

McCutchen wasn’t necessarily *bad* for the Phillies last season, but it was still one of the worst seasons the veteran outfielder has ever put up. He recorded a career-low OPS of .757, his batting average was down in the .250s, and his defensive WAR was a -1.0.

For someone who was initially on the hook for $20 million in 2020, it was definitely less than ideal.

However, even though Cutch is now a year older, there’s still reason to believe that the fan-favorite left fielder can bounce back in 2021. Not only has he had more time to recover from his ACL injury, but he’s now getting himself a full Spring Training under his belt – compared to last year where he spent all of spring rehabbing his knee.

Thus far, the extra practice reps appear to be doing Cutch well. He’s hitting .267 with an .820 OPS down in Clearwater, and his defense has looked noticeably better – all things the Phillies would gladly take once the regular season rolls around.

Most importantly, Cutch looks nimble and heathy when moving around in the outfield and on the base paths, two things that he wasn’t able to do fluidly last year due to the lingering effects of his knee surgery.

A fully healthy Cutch would do wonders for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Prior to his 2019 injury, McCutchen had a .378 OBP with an .834 OPS operating out of the leadoff spot. Considering the fact that key sluggers like Harper, Realmuto, Didi Gregorius, and even Alec Bohm are set to be hitting after him in 2021, Cutch returning to that level of on-base prowess would do wonders for the Phillies postseason odds.

Throw in his theoretically improved defense (he had a dWAR of 0.2 in 2019 pre-injury), and you’re looking at an outfielder who can easily give the Phillies 100+ productive starts out in left field.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Cutch ever lives up to that massive $50 million contract that he signed two offseasons ago, but he can absolutely help the Philadelphia Phillies crack the postseason here in 2021. With Adam Haseley, Scott Kingery, and others backing him up, left field should hopefully be a “plus” position for the Phils this summer.