Andrew McCutchen spoke prior to the Pirates series-opener against the Marlins about the injury he sustained in the final game of the series at Arizona.
It was reported on Monday that McCutchen sustained a serious oblique injury that could have kept him from the field for three to four weeks, but that was not the case as the actual injury McCutchen sustained while taking a swing in the seventh inning was “an avulsion fracture involving the costochondral cartilage of the left 11th rib.” An injury where the cartilage was ripped from the bone.
“It’s not an oblique strain,” McCutchen said. “It’s a little piece of cartilage off the rib. Those are two different things and that heals quicker than muscle so, I think my body is pretty good and my response is pretty well to a lot of different things to where I can be back on my feet in no time.”
The injury is a unique one as it doesn’t have an exact timetable for recovery. The team nor McCutchen know the exact recovery time leading them to keep McCutchen on the active roster in hopes his recovery time is faster than what one would take on the 15-day DL.
“It’s just rest and doing those things that those trainers do for a living to try and get me back,” said McCutchen. “Ultimately, it’s going to be how I feel at the end. There’s a grey area in that doctor realm because everyone’s bodies are different. Right now, they are going to reevaluate me in a couple days to see how I feel. We don’t want to make a decision to put me on the DL right away because there’s a possibility that I can be better before the 15 days are over, so there’s a chance. If I’m progressing and we will keep going from there. Two days ago, I couldn’t put my shoes on. Now, I can throw my shoes on, put my clothes on, everything fine. Nothing bothers me like that, so I’m improving.”
It seems like an ugly coincidence that the injury was sustained a day after getting hit on the left side of the back. While it can’t be proven that the injury could have been aided by the HBP, McCutchen hasn’t ruled anything out.
“I don’t know,” said McCutchen. “I don’t want to count that out because I take a million swings a day and one swing all of a sudden that happens. I’m not to certain as far as could it. Maybe, it could have had something to do with it. At the same time, we don’t know because I took a swing and that happened, so I really don’t know. I’m not too sure.”
The timing of the injury couldn’t of come at a worse time for the Pirates, who are 1 1/2 games out of first in the NL Central and the NL wild card. McCutchen currently posts a .311/.536/.947 slash line with 17 home runs and 67 RBI. It’s now time for his fellow teammates to pick up the slack for the time that he’s out.
“I always say ‘don’t feel bad for me. I’ll be fine.’ Don’t give up on our team because we’re good with one person or not. That’s why it takes a team. It’s not just me. I know we’ll be alright and when I do come back, I’ll let it be known when I come back.”
We’ll see soon enough if McCutchen’s absence takes this season towards another direction.
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