Andrew McCutchen was benched Wednesday — and Thursday — in Atlanta after an 0-for-5 performance Tuesday dropped his batting average to .200 for the season. It was the latest indignity in a career that had suffered few before last season.
For that reason, it’s tempting to think of his downturn as sudden. McCutchen’s production was excellent as recently as 2015, and so it’s reasonable to think he can regain some semblance of that form with a few adjustments. Or so the optimist hopes.
The reality is probably darker than that. While it’s true that McCutchen’s bottom-line numbers have only been unsatisfactory since 2016, clear trends in his peripheral statistical profile suggest his stock has been pointed south for much longer than most people think.