The Pittsburgh Pirates are moving Oneil Cruz one step closer to a return, shifting his rehab assignment from Triple-A Indianapolis to Double-A Altoona beginning with the Aug. 11 series opener against Akron at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
It’s a practical move as much as anything else. Indianapolis is on the road against Nashville, while Altoona is at home, giving Cruz a chance to keep stacking game reps without interruption. The Pirates want him building back toward full game shape, and they want that process to keep moving fast.
Cruz first went on rehab assignment with Indianapolis on Aug. 7 and played two games against Iowa at Victory Field, his first game action since the injury. The weekend wasn’t clean at the plate - he went 0-for-5 with two walks and three strikeouts - but he did log seven innings in center field in each game, another important step as he works back.
The 27-year old has been out since June 7, when he last played for Pittsburgh. He fractured his left hand the night before, sliding into home plate against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on June 6, with catcher Austin Wynns applying the tag on Cruz’s left hand.
Since then, Cruz has worked through the long ramp-up process, including gripping exercises to rebuild strength in the hand and progression into swinging and taking contact. He had to deal with pain before he was able to resume all baseball activities, but he is now cleared for rehab games.
The timing also lines up with his injured list status. Cruz became eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on Aug. 7.
If the next few days go well, the Pirates would likely want Cruz back for their upcoming homestand against the Boston Red Sox from Aug. 14-16 and the Detroit Tigers from Aug. 17-19.
Pittsburgh would welcome that. The club has been sliding hard since the All-Star break, going 8-15, dropping six straight series and winning only six of its last 20 games. That leaves the Pirates at 58-62, four games under .500, and their postseason hopes are getting squeezed.
Cruz’s absence has been felt most in the lineup. Before the injury, he was in the middle of his best season, hitting .264/.350/.472 with an .822 OPS in 64 games. He had 66 hits, 10 doubles, 14 home runs, 44 RBI and 21 stolen bases.
The Pirates also missed what Cruz was giving them against left-handed pitching. He had taken a big step forward there, hitting .312/.361/.506 with an .867 OPS.
For Pittsburgh, the hope is simple: Cruz keeps trending up in rehab, gets through the next few days cleanly, and brings that bat back to a lineup that badly needs it.
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