CLEARWATER, Fla. — Andrew McCutchen’s quest to be ready for Opening Day will be unsuccessful, as Joe Girardi said Friday afternoon the Phillies outfielder requires more time in his recovery from last summer’s season-ending knee injury.
The Phillies expect McCutchen, who had surgery last June to repair the torn ACL in his left knee, to be ready sometime in April. A return in time for the season — which begins March 26 in Miami — always seemed optimistic as it would have been just nine months after his injury.
“But Cutch is probably still going to tell you, ‘Oh, I’m still shooting for Opening Day.’ But we don’t think it’s realistic,” Girardi said. “You see what our guys are going through. They are playing a day. They’re off a day. They’re playing a day. You just need time to physically get ready and to get 40, 50, 60 at-bats. You just can’t run a guy out there for four at-bats every day and say he’s going to be ready in 10 days.”
McCutchen’s injury means the Phillies will open their 10th straight season with a different starter in left field. The most probable solution would be Roman Quinn in left field with Adam Haseley in center. Jay Bruce could also start there, but he’s still building his arm strength from last season’s forearm injury. The Phillies also have Nick Williams and Kyle Garlick on the 40-man roster, along with Phil Gosselin, Nick Martini, ex-Pirate Josh Harrison, Mikie Mahtook and Matt Sczur in camp on minor league deals.
“There’s a lot of guys,” Girardi said. “We have a lot of decisions to make. There are a lot of decisions, but those decisions that we have to make, it seems there’s a lot of people competing for each one of those jobs.”
