Cesar Hernandez back at leadoff spot for Phillies as Andrew McCutchen is out for the season

SAN DIEGO — Phillies manager Gabe Kapler did not try to sugarcoat the impact of Andrew McCutchen’s loss on his ballclub Tuesday afternoon.

“Throughout the entire season he’s been unquestionably one of our better players,” Kapler said. “Even at the outset of the season when he wasn’t as productive as he has been recently, he was still a really good baseball player for us, getting on base, consistently seeing pitches and setting the tone for the rest of our lineup.”

In short, McCutchen was a force at the top of the lineup and now he is gone. Cesar Hernandez will get the chance to replace him in that spot.

“There’s no question we have some options,” Kapler said. “Bryce [Harper] has hit leadoff in the past. Cesar has been very successful there in the past. Scott [Kingery] has been so good that he should be a consideration at the top of the lineup against some pitching as well. I don’t want to make any declarations right now ... that it’s going to be a revolving door. Let’s kind of see how it plays out. Lets’ see how Cesar performs up there.”

Hernandez batted leadoff 144 times last season for the Phillies. He had a .270 average and .378 on-base percentage in 95 games at the all-star break, but those numbers slipped to .228 and .324 after the break.

In addition to moving Hernandez up to the top of the order, Kapler also batted Bryce Harper second and Jean Segura third Tuesday night.

With McCutchen gone, the Phillies’ regular lineup at least for the foreseeable future will have Rhys Hoskins at first base, Hernandez at second base, Segura at shortstop, Kingery at third base, Jay Bruce in left field, Adam Haseley in center field, Harper in right field and J.T. Realmuto at catcher.

“The way I envision it right now is when there’s a right-handed pitcher on the mound, and I’m not saying this for every right-handed pitcher, Adam will play center and Jay will play left,” Kapler said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have Scott out there from time to time. That doesn’t mean we don’t reserve the right to change our minds on that. But that’s where we are currently. Scott will get a look at third base for a little bit. We have a lot of right-handed pitching coming up.”

Phillies first-round pick Bryson Stott is not just a casual acquaintance of Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper. They hang out together in the offseason and watch college football together.

“He’s a big Ohio State guy,” Harper said. “I played with his older brother Brendan. We’ve known [the family] for a long time. He’s a great player. He’s just a pure hitter from both sides. A good human being on and off the field. I FaceTimed him right after we drafted him and told him congrats. I was pumped for him. It’s funny because two months ago, I told him, ‘Dude, you’re going to be a Phillie. If you’re there at 14, they’re going to take you for sure.’ He was super excited and super happy.”

The Phillies close out their six-game West Coast trip Wednesday afternoon at 3:40 p.m. with Jake Arrieta (5-5, 3.96) going against rookie Cal Quantrill (1-2, 5.14). Quantrill is the son of former Phillies pitcher Paul Quantrill. ... In order to add Haseley to the roster, the Phillies moved reliever Victor Arano to the 60-day injured list.