Cruz (back) remains out of the lineup for Monday's game versus the Mets.
Cruz will miss a second straight start after exiting Saturday' contest versus Atlanta with lower-back tightness. Alexander Canario will get another start in center field in place of Cruz, who is considered day-to-day.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Viewed as day-to-day
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Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said prior to Sunday's game against Atlanta that Cruz is considered day-to-day due to lower back tightness, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "We don't have a full update yet, because he was going to go through some stuff and see how he felt," Cherington said of Cruz. "He felt a little tightness in that low back as he pulled up on the bases, as people saw [in Saturday's 3-2 loss]."
Cruz appeared to tweak his back after reaching base during his final plate appearance in the ninth inning, but he played an inning in the field before he was lifted from Saturday's game in the top of the 11th inning. The Pirates don't seem overly concerned about Cruz's back issue forcing him to the injured list, as the team didn't call up an extra infielder from the minors ahead of Sunday's game. With a quick turnaround for Sunday's contest and a tough lefty (Chris Sale) on the mound for Atlanta, the Pirates may have viewed the series finale as an opportune time to give the lefty-hitting Cruz his first day off since April 20.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: On bench Sunday
Rotowire
Cruz (back) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Cruz exited late in Saturday's 3-2 loss after appearing to tweak his back, which will keep him out of the starting nine for at least one game. Alexander Canario will shift to center field while Tommy Pham starts in left with Cruz sitting out.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Dealing with back injury
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Cruz was removed from Saturday's 3-2 extra innings loss to Atlanta due to lower-back tightness, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Per Stumpf, Cruz appeared to tweak his back in the ninth frame and was replaced by Liover Peguero. Cruz will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury, but he is in jeopardy of missing Sunday's series finale. Ji Hwan Bae would be in line to see more work in the outfield if Cruz is unable to play.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes two more bags
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Cruz went 0-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and two stolen bases Friday against the Padres.
Cruz has been one of the few bright spots in the Pirates' lineup, and he continued his breakout Friday. He stole multiple bases in a game for the second time this season, bringing his total on the campaign to 14. He's also scored 15 runs in 17 games since taking over as Pittsburgh's leadoff hitter.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Continues powering offense
Rotowire
Cruz went 2-for-4 with a walk, a homer and two RBI during Saturday's 8-4 loss to the Dodgers.
The 26-year-old opened the game with a leadoff homer and followed up with an RBI single in the fifth inning. Cruz has collected multiple hits in four of the last five games and has also homered in three of the past four. He has a .267/.370/.567 slash line with eight long balls, 16 RBI and 17 runs through 25 games, and he's also tied for the MLB lead with 12 stolen bases.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Not in Sunday's lineup
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Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Cruz is receiving Sunday off after a run of seven straight starts, during which he batted .269 (7-for-26) with three homers, three stolen bases, six RBI and six runs. Alexander Canario is getting a look in center field for the series finale versus Cleveland.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes 10th bag of 2025
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Cruz went 1-for-3 with one walk and a stolen base in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Guardians.
The Pirates' offense struggled Saturday, but Cruz managed to get on base twice and registered his 10th steal of the season in the third inning. He leads the majors in steals and ranks 12th and 14th in the National League in walks (13) and home runs (five), respectively.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Blasts grand slam vs. Washington
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Cruz went 2-for-4 with a grand slam in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Nationals.
Cruz put the Pirates up for good in the sixth inning, when he took the first pitch he saw from Eduardo Salazar deep to right field for a 385-foot grand slam. It was the third home run of the season for Cruz and his first since April 2 against the Rays. The 26-year-old outfielder has begun the season slashing .222/.343/.426 with three home runs and nine RBI in 67 plate appearances, and he leads the majors with eight stolen bases.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Cruz (finger) is not in the Pirates' starting lineup against the Reds on Saturday.
Saturday marks the third straight absence for Cruz after he was hit on the finger by a pitch in Tuesday's contest against St. Louis. He could be available as a pinch runner, but Alexander Canario will draw the start in center field and bat sixth against Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Managing finger soreness
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Manager Derek Shelton said after Wednesday's game against St. Louis that Cruz wasn't in the lineup due to finger soreness.
Cruz took a pitch off his finger in the seventh inning of Tuesday's contest, and he was pinch hit for when his spot in the batting order came around again in the ninth. Shelton noted that the 26-year-old was still available to pinch run or act as a defensive sub Wednesday, but the team wanted to make sure he didn't hit as a precaution. The Pirates' off day Thursday will give Cruz an extra 24 hours to recover, and he'll look to return to the starting nine in Friday's series opener in Cincinnati.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Resting for day game
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Cruz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
The Pirates haven't indicated that Cruz is dealing with an injury, but fantasy managers may nonetheless want to keep an eye on his status heading into the team's weekend series with the Reds. Andrew McCutchen came on to pinch hit for the lefty-hitting Cruz in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 5-3 loss to St. Louis, though it's possible that had more to do with the Cardinals having a lefty reliever (JoJo Romero) on the bump. Cruz now finds himself out of the lineup for a day game after a night game, despite the fact that the right-handed Erick Fedde is starting for St. Louis. With a team off day on tap Thursday, Pittsburgh may have wanted to build in some extra rest for Cruz, who had started in 11 of its first 12 games.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Marlins.
The 26-year-old has gone 2-for-10 with six walks, a homer, four stolen bases, three runs and two RBI through the first three games of the season, and he'll receive a breather for Sunday's series finale in Miami. Jack Suwinski is receiving the start in center field in place of Cruz.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Steals two more bags in loss
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Cruz went 0-for-2 with with four walks, a run scored and two steals in Saturday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Marlins.
Cruz has been off and running to open the season and now has four steals through three contests. The 26-year-old also walked a career-high four times Saturday, showcasing impressive plate discipline and bringing his season total to six free passes.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homers, steals base in win
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Cruz went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk, a stolen base and an additional run scored in a 4-3 win over the Marlins on Friday.
Cruz sent a 115 mph missile to right field for a two-run homer in the fifth inning, which extended the Pirates' lead to 4-0. He stole his second base in as many games as well and has the potential to go 20-20 again this year after hitting 21 home runs and stealing 22 bases in 2024.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Coming back from illness
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Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday that Cruz is being brought along slowly in spring training because he came to camp with an illness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Cruz is no longer ill, but since the ailment had prevented him from doing workouts for a while, the Pirates are taking it easy on him in the early weeks of camp. The center fielder has played in one of the team's first four Grapefruit League games, picking up a single and a stolen base Tuesday versus Atlanta. Cruz should be ready for a regular workload soon.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Out again Wednesday
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) isn't in Pittsburgh's lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.
Cruz entered as a pinch hitter during Tuesday's loss to the Cards, but he'll remain absent from the starting nine Wednesday as he continues to battle left ankle soreness. Billy Cook start in center field and bat ninth.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Remains out of Pittsburgh lineup
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Cruz (ankle) remains out of the lineup for Tuesday's contest in St. Louis.
It's the second straight start Cruz has missed after he had to leave Sunday's tilt against the Royals with left ankle soreness. He is considered day-to-day. Michael Taylor will occupy center field as the Pirates try to even the series.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Dealing with ankle injury
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Cruz exited Sunday's 4-3 win over the Royals in the seventh inning due to a left ankle injury, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Cruz is dealing with left ankle discomfort after slipping in the outfield according to manager Derek Shelton. Shelton said that the 26-year-old "was able to run" and that it later "stiffened up." Cruz finished his day 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored against Kansas City. The Pirates will start a four-game series in St. Louis on Monday, and it's unclear if Cruz will be ready to go for the opener.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Out of Sunday's lineup
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Cruz is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Cruz will head to the bench after a run of 22 straight starts, during which he batted .313 with nine extra-base hits, nine steals, 10 RBI and nine runs. Michael Taylor is receiving a look in center field for the series finale versus Washington.
