Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Cruz (hand) has had "good days of late" and could be ready to start up a rehab assignment in early August, Dominic Campbell of SI.com reports.
Cruz has been on the shelf since sustaining a fractured left hand June 8 and will be eligible to return from the 60-day injured list Aug. 7. He would appear to have decent odds of being ready to rejoin the Pirates on or around that date, as he's been swinging a bat for a few weeks and seems to have moved past the lingering soreness in his hand that he had experienced early on during the recovery process. Cruz will continue to ramping up over the next few days before the Pirates potentially map out a rehab assignment for him.