Pirates Give Good News on Oneil Cruz Injury
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PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz hasn't played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in almost two months, but he's on the right track towards his full return.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke about Cruz on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan and said that Cruz is improving and his soreness and pain he was feeling prior in his swinging progression is becoming less of an issue.
Cherington also anticipates Cruz remaining on the timeline he is on, coming back in early August.
“We’re still hopeful. He’s had good days of late," Cherington said. "He seems to be past the soreness that he was feeling where the fractures were, like when he was making contact early in the hitting progression, he was still feeling it. He seems to be getting past that. Those symptoms are subsiding, which is good news, just means the bones are healing and he’s getting past that.
"Now it’s just a matter of ramping up the rest of the baseball stuff and getting through all that progression, at which point we’ll get him into a rehab assignment, get him into games."
Overview of Oneil Cruz's Injury
Cruz fractured his left hand while sliding at home plate in the 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on June 6.
He officially suffered fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures in his left hand, which is colloquially known as a boxer's fracture, with direct trauma to the hand that makes it painful to grip or hold things.
Cruz has spent most of July down in Bradenton, Fla., the Spring Training site for the Pirates, fully focused on his recovery and getting his hand back ready for full baseball activities.
The Pirates originally had a timeline set for four to six weeks, which would've had Cruz come back around July 12-26.
Pittsburgh eventually placed Cruz on the 60-day injured list, with the earliest return for him on Aug. 7, still 10 days away.
They did this because he was still feeling pain when swinging the bat, showing that his bones were healing, but that he needed a bit more time.
Cruz also needs to do a rehab assignment before he comes back to the Pirates, so the timing for his return coincided with how long he would spend on the 60-day injured list.
He'll still need to acclimate to everything needed from him, his speed on the base paths, his range and arm in center field and power with his bat, then he can come back and serve as a huge part of the Pirates lineup once again.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.