While the Pittsburgh Pirates activated outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the disabled list on Tuesday, the Padres and Cardinals hope to do the same with a couple of their pitchers who were once key aspects of their starting rotations.
McCutchen has been out of action since August 4 with a fractured rib and has missed 13 games during which the Pirates have gone 5-8. But Pittsburgh still remains only two games back of the final wild card spot and six games behind the NL Central division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Manager Clint Hurdle said he was optimistic that the reigning NL MVP would be in Tuesday's lineup, and he was right. McCutchen will bring his .311 average, 17 home runs, 67 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases back to the team against the Atlanta Braves.
The St. Louis Cardinals are one spot ahead of the Pirates in the NL Central and they hope to get a key player back from the disabled list as well. Starting pitcher Michael Wacha has missed the past two months because of a stress reaction in his right shoulder, but he's currently going through rehab to get back onto the field hopefully by September. On Tuesday the right-hander threw a 35-pitch bullpen session, which was a significant step for his eventual return.
"I was expecting less," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, about Wacha's bullpen session, in this St. Louis Post Dispatch article. "We're being aggressive, a little more intensity. It looked really close to what we normally would see when he's out there. It just looked real effortless when the ball was coming out of his hand. He wasn't trying to hump up and do anything extraordinary. It looked good."
San Diego Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner has also missed a significant amount of time, but he's closer to returning to the team's starting rotation. The 27-year-old right-hander was placed on the disabled list on June 23 because of shoulder soreness and the team is being very cautious about the injury because he had similar issues in 2011 and 2012. Cashner threw his second rehab start on Monday at Triple-A El Paso. He logged 63 pitches over five innings and gave up three runs on four hits and one walk. His first rehab assignment was at High-A Lake Elsinore where he threw two scoreless innings. Based on his Monday performance, Cashner will need at least one more start before the Padres consider reactivating him from the DL.
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