Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Cruz (hand) is facing an estimated recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Cruz landed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday after he was diagnosed with non-displaced fourth and fifth metacarpal fractures in his left hand, with the injury stemming from a hard slide in Atlanta last weekend. While Cruz appears likely to avoid surgery on his hand, he'll still need to wait for the fractures to heal before he resumes baseball activities. Given the timeline laid out by Cherington, it wouldn't be surprising if the Pirates opted to hold Cruz out through the All-Star break.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Out of lineup due to hand issue
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Cruz (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.
Cruz will remain on the bench for a third straight game while he continues to experience discomfort stemming from a cut to his left hand, which he sustained during a hard slide in Atlanta over the weekend. Jake Mangum will pick up a start in center field in place of Cruz, who is being viewed as day-to-day while he continues to receive treatment for the injury.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Ready to go Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz (hand) is back in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers.
Cruz was held out of Sunday's lineup due to a cut on his hand that he suffered when he slid into home plate during Saturday's matchup against Atlanta. The 27-year-old has slashed .264/.350/.472 with 14 homers, 44 RBI and 21 steals on the campaign. Cruz will play center field and bat sixth Tuesday.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Considered day-to-day
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Cruz suffered a cut on his hand during Saturday's game against Atlanta and is being considered day-to-day, Jeff Hathhorn of 93.7 The Fan reports.
Cruz was held out of the lineup Sunday after suffering a cut on his hand while sliding into home plate. However, the club is confident that the star outfielder will be able to avoid a trip to the injured list, and he'll presumably be re-evaluated before Tuesday's series opener against the Dodgers to determine if he can be penciled into the starting nine.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
Cruz isn't in Pittsburgh's starting lineup for Sunday's matchup against Atlanta.
Cruz has started June in fine form, posting a .591 OBP with a homer, two stolen bases and seven walks through five games, but he'll get a breather Sunday. Jake Mangum is starting in center field for the Pirates.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Reaches 20-steal mark
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Cruz went 2-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base and two runs scored in Wednesday's 11-9 loss to the Astros.
Cruz went 1-for-2 on stolen-base attempts in this contest, with his successful swipe being his 20th of the year. He's logged four of those thefts over his last eight games, going 9-for-27 (.333) at the plate with three home runs, 10 RBI and seven walks in that span. The speedster is now batting .263 with an .816 OPS, 14 home runs, 44 RBI, 45 runs scored and 10 doubles over 60 contests. Cruz is tracking toward a career year despite also leading the majors with 94 strikeouts.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Reaches four times, steals base
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-3 with three singles, an RBI, a hit-by-pitch, one stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 12-1 win over the Cubs.
Cruz singled, stole his 17th base of the season and scored in the bottom of the first inning. It was just the third time this month that Cruz didn't record a strikeout after he entered play Tuesday leading the majors with 84 of them, six more than Kyle Schwarber. When Cruz does hit the ball, it typically results in something good happening, as he's in the 100th percentile in average exit velocity (96.1 mph), 95th percentile in barrel rate (16.9 percent), 100th percentile in hard-hit rate (61.4 percent) and 99th percentile in bat speed (78.5 mph). On the season, Cruz is slashing .265/.329/.461 with 11 homers, 35 RBI, 38 runs scored, 17 steals and an 18:84 BB:K across 240 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Three-hit night in win Tuesday
Rotowire
Cruz went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Rockies.
Cruz doubled and scored in both the first and fifth innings, accounting for most of the offense for Pittsburgh in this low-scoring affair. It marked Cruz's second three-hit game in the last three contests, and he's now on a four-game hitting streak, having gone 8-for-18 during that span. On the year, the center fielder is slashing .266/.330/.491 with 10 home runs, 29 RBI, 33 runs scored, 15 stolen bases and a 14:62 BB:K across 185 plate appearances. Cruz has one of the most prolific batted-ball profiles in the sport, as he's in the 95th percentile or better in average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard-hit rate and bat speed.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homer, steal in extra-innings loss
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Cruz went 1-for-5 with a solo home run, a walk, a stolen base and two total runs scored in Sunday's 7-6 extra-innings loss to the Giants.
Cruz went 5-for-14 with two walks during this three-game series in San Francisco. The homer was his first since April 28, ending his season-worst 10-game stretch without a long ball. The outfielder is batting .255 with a .793 OPS, 10 homers, 15 steals, 29 RBI and 31 runs scored over 39 contests this season, providing well-rounded production in the counting stats.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Scores twice in big win
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Cruz went 2-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI on Saturday against the Reds.
Nearly every hitter in the Pirates' lineup delivered counting stats in a 17-7 win, and Cruz contributed to significant rallies in the first and fourth innings. He's had a mediocre homestand across six games, going 6-for-24 with three RBI and six runs scored. Cruz has had a very impressive start to the season with nine home runs and 27 RBI already, though his 35.8 percent strikeout rate remains a significant red flag in his skills profile.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homers in return
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Cruz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run during the Pirates' 11-7 loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Cruz missed Monday's series opener due to an illness but was back in the lineup for Tuesday's contest, when he put the Pirates on the board with a solo homer off Kyle Leahy in the sixth inning. Cruz is in the midst of a breakout season and sits in the top five in the National League in home runs (nine), RBI (25) and stolen bases (10), though his 45 strikeouts are second-most in the NL behind James Wood (46).
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Back in action Tuesday
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Cruz (illness) is starting in center field and batting leadoff Tuesday against the Cardinals.
The 27-year-old was scratched from the lineup for Monday's series opener due to an illness but is good to go for Tuesday's contest. Cruz has gone 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his past two games but overall has been productive during the first month of the campaign with eight home runs, 10 steals, 24 RBI, 19 runs and an .838 OPS in 27 games.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Collects 10th steal
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Cruz went 1-for-4 with a steal and a run scored during the Pirates' 5-1 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday.
Cruz showed off his speed early by stealing second base in the first inning, and after moving to third on a Danny Jansen throwing error, Cruz was brought home by an Ryan O'Hearn single to center field. Cruz is up to 10 steals (on 11 attempts) this season, tied with Nasim Nunez for second most in the majors behind Jose Ramirez (11). Cruz is off to a strong start to the 2026 season with a .897 OPS, six home runs and 19 RBI over 103 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homer, stolen base in loss
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Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, one walk and a stolen base in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Cubs.
With the wind whipping out to center at Wrigley Field on Sunday, Cruz led off the game with a solo blast. He struck out in each of his next three trips to the plate before walking and stealing his sixth base of the season in the ninth inning. It's been an all-or-nothing start to the 2026 campaign for Cruz, who is slashing .339/.400/.644 with five homers, 13 RBI, 11 runs scored, six steals and a 5:20 BB:K across 65 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Runs wild against Cubbies
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Cruz went 4-for-5 with a walk, a double, a run scored and three stolen bases in Saturday's 4-3 extra-innings win over the Cubs.
All three steals came against the battery of Edward Cabrera and Miguel Amaya, and the Pirates went 4-for-4 on the basepaths against that duo in the contest. Cruz also extended his hitting streak to 10 games with the huge performance from the leadoff spot, and through 60 plate appearances to begin the season he's slashing .345/.400/.618 with four homers, five stolen bases, 10 runs and 12 RBI.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Tallies fourth homer
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Cruz went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, three RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Orioles.
Cruz delivered his third three-RBI performance in his last five games. He kicked off the effort with an infield single in the second inning before popping a two-run home run four frames later. More impressive was that this was Cruz's third long ball and sixth hit against a lefty this season, which comes directly after logging only 11 knocks across 125 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Taking seat Saturday
Rotowire
Cruz isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.
A couple of defensive miscues from Cruz allowed the Mets to take an early 5-2 lead in the first inning of Thursday's contest, so the Pirates will keep the 27-year-old on the bench to begin Saturday's game while Jake Mangum patrols center field.
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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: 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: Idle Wednesday
Rotowire
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.
