Pittsburgh Pirates Star Rehabbing Injury and Has Good Chance to Return This Season
The Pittsburgh Pirates are getting increasingly good news on the health of shortstop Oneil Cruz, who very well could play again this season.
He's been out most of the year after breaking his ankle against the Chicago White Sox in early April. You can see that play here.
The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Thursday that Cruz (ankle) has begun a formal running program, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
Cruz has been throwing and taking light fielding practice for the last couple of weeks and has now been given clearance to ramp up the intensity of his workouts. If his surgically-repaired ankle responds well to the running progression, Cruz could feasibly head out on a minor-league rehab assignment within the next couple of weeks and return to the Pirates just before the end of August. The 24-year-old shortstop fractured his left fibula while sliding into home plate back on April 9.
The Pirates entered play on Thursday at 51-63 and in fourth place in the National League Central. While they are just playing out the string of the season, it would be a great lift to get Cruz back healthy and get some momentum heading into 2024.
Cruz, 24, is among the brightest young stars in the game. He is hitting .250 for the season with a homer, four RBI and three stolen bases through 32 at-bats.
He made his major league debut in 2021 but really burst out in 2022, clocking 19 home runs and bringing in 61 in just 87 games.
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