Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew McCutchen is gone. He’s a New York Yankee now and few people can appreciate his contribution to the Giants this season more than manager Bruce Bochy. Before the start Giants vs. New York Mets series on Friday night, Bochy spoke to McCutchen’s character and his hopes for him the season.
“He was great,” Bochy said. “I talked to him this morning, I saw him before he left today. Just a pro and we moved him in the order, he never said a word. He came over here, went right to right field. He comes to play everyday. This man doesn’t get many days off and he plays the game right, plays it hard. Now I hope it goes well for him over there in New York. I really do. Get to the playoffs and do well.”
Brian Sabean, the Giants’ executive vice president of baseball operations, didn’t rule out bringing McCutchen back next season. Bochy said he would love the chance to have McCutchen back.
“We’ve talked about that,” Bochy said. “With who the man is, his talent, he has the ability to play every day and he stays injury-free. The resume, the body of work speaks for itself. A great teammate. The players really enjoyed their time with him as I did. So sure, I would be ecstatic to have him back.”
While the departure of McCutchen is bittersweet, it opens up a spot in the Giants’ outfield at the perfect time for young players like Chris Shaw to fill it. Shaw, a left-handed, power-hitting prospect will make his first start for the Giants tonight in left field. Shaw was batting .259 with 24 home runs this season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
“He’s going to be playing left field and he’ll get a lot of playing time out there,” Bochy said. “He’s a bat that we think is going to play here at some point on a regular basis and so he’s going to get a chance to show what he can do up here in September. This isn’t going to determine what happens to him by any means, but with Cutch now gone, it does give us a chance to take a look at a young player like Shaw.”
Bochy said both Shaw and Austin Slater will get plenty of playing time in left and right field, respectively. The skipper said he wasn’t too concerned about Shaw being a left-handed hitter in a park where lefties have sometimes struggled.
“I think you look at the plus power,” Bochy said. “He’s not a guy that needs a small ballpark. I don’t want him coming up here trying to hit home runs. Just try to hit the ball hard, get the barrel on it. I don’t want to put that pressure on him, but he’s got good power the other way too. We’ve seen the ball go out the other way with Crawford and Belt. He’s a hitter. It’s only going to get better with him. Just give him a chance to see what he has to face up here.”