As a precaution, McCutchen will wear padding around his ribcage for the remainder of the season. The padding will provide both protection and compression. Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen is expected to be back in the Pirates lineup on Tuesday night for their game against the Atlanta Braves, and his return cannot come a minute too soon.
The center fielder said he was ready for play after taking batting practice and running the bases prior to Monday night’s 7-3 loss to the Braves.
McCutchen has been out since Aug. 4 with a fracture in his lower left ribcage. The Pirates have gone 5-9 since he went on the DL — including losing their last six games — and have fallen six games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central and two games out in the wild-card standings.
“I felt pretty good out there,” said McCutchen, who hit against Jeff Inman, a reliever with the Pirates’ Double-A Altoona farm club. “I made some good contact with some balls. I pretty much did everything. Swings and misses, check swung, fouled balls off, and none of it bothered me. I’m ready to go.”
While the Pirates never publicly gave a timetable for McCutchen’s return, they privately expected him to miss a month when he was first injured. He has beaten that timetable by nearly two weeks.
McCutchen won the National League Most Valuable Player award last season and is a contender to repeat as he is hitting .311 with 17 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 109 games.
McCutchen said his biggest concern was how his ribs would feel when he swung against live pitching. He was relieved that he experienced no pain.
“If that felt good then I know I’m going to feel good when I get into a game,” he said.
As a precaution, McCutchen will wear padding around his ribcage for the remainder of the season. The padding will provide both protection and compression.
