Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Cruz has been dealing with ankle discomfort recently, and he'll get a breather for Pittsburgh's regular-season finale. Alexander Canario will patrol center field. Cruz is slashing .200/.298/.379 with 20 home runs and 38 stolen bases across 543 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Back in lineup
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) will start in center field and bat leadoff against Atlanta on Saturday.
Cruz missed two games after making an early exit Wednesday with ankle discomfort, but he'll return in time to make at least one more start before the end of the season. The 26-year-old hasn't exactly been ending 2025 on a positive note, however, slashing .179/.258/.286 across 62 plate appearances since the start of September.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: On bench Friday
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.
Cruz left Wednesday's game with left ankle discomfort and is out of the lineup Friday for a second straight contest. Alexander Canario will patrol center field and bat seventh in Cruz's place. It's unclear whether Cruz's back-to-back absences are due to the injury or the Pirates facing left-handed pitchers.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Not in Thursday's lineup
Rotowire
Cruz (ankle) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Cincinnati.
Cruz departed Wednesday's game with left ankle discomfort, though he probably wasn't going to start Thursday, regardless, with southpaw Nick Lodolo on the bump for the Reds. He's considered day-to-day for the time being. Alexander Canario is in center field and batting seventh for the Pirates in Thursday's series finale.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Exits with ankle injury
Rotowire
Cruz was removed from Wednesday's game against the Reds with left ankle discomfort, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Cruz jammed his ankle into the center-field wall while attempting to make a catch in the eighth frame of Wednesday's contest. He was able to stay in the game for the rest of the inning but was pulled once the Pirates took the field in the ninth. More details regarding the severity of his injury will likely come after the game.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Ends homer drought
Rotowire
Cruz went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Tuesday against the Reds.
Cruz blasted his 20th home run of the season in the second inning and his first since Aug. 30. He's had a very quiet September to close out a disappointing year, hitting only .192 with eight RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases across 52 at-bats. While Cruz is hitting just .203 overall, he is two stolen bases away from a 20-40 campaign.
Cruz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Cruz has now exited the starting nine in four of the Pirates' last seven games, though three of his absences have come with left-handed pitchers on the bump for the opposition. He'll cede center field to Alexander Canario on Wednesday as the Cubs send southpaw Matthew Boyd to the bump for the series finale.
Cruz is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Cubs.
The Cubs are sending right-hander Jameson Taillon to the bump, but the left-handed-hitting Cruz will nonetheless retreat to the bench in the series opener. It's the third time over the last five contests that he's been absent from the lineup, but the first two times he sat out came against lefties. Cruz is slashing just .186/.276/.314 across 74 games since the beginning of June. Jack Suwinski will handle center field for the Pirates on Monday.
Cruz is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.
Southpaw Blake Snell is on the bump for the Dodgers, marking the fifth straight game the left-handed-hitting Cruz has been out of the lineup versus a lefty (when healthy). The 26-year-old is slashing a woeful .106/.212/.183 with a 36.4 percent strikeout rate against left-handed pitching this season, so he now appears to find himself in a platoon. Alexander Canario will be in center field and bat seventh for the Pirates on Thursday.
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