ONEIL CRUZ NEWS

Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes scratched with lower back tightness. Grandal starts rehab assignment

Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been scratched from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup against the New York Mets because of tightness in his lower back

APRIL 16, 2024 • Associated Press

Phillies face the Pirates with 2-1 series lead

The Philadelphia Phillies play the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading the series 2-1

APRIL 14, 2024 • Associated Press

Castellanos' walk-off, bases-loaded single caps Phillies' 4-3 rally over Pirates

Nick Castellanos hit a walk-off, bases-loaded single in the ninth inning, Kyle Schwarber homered and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3

APRIL 13, 2024 • Associated Press

Pirates host the Tigers on home winning streak

The Pittsburgh Pirates, on a three-game home winning streak, host the Detroit Tigers

APRIL 9, 2024 • Associated Press

Walk-off hit from Oneil Cruz secures 11th-inning win for Pirates over Orioles PITTSBURGH - Similar to the hockey team on the other side of town, Pittsburgh’s baseball club didn’t make things easy on itself after buildi...

APRIL 7, 2024 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Cruz delivers walk-off winner for Bucs in extras PITTSBURGH -- The battery of Bailey Falter and Joey Bart bounced back from their less than ideal starts in 2024 and carried the Pirates to t...

APRIL 7, 2024 • MLB.COM

Oneil Cruz's RBI single in 11th inning lifts Pirates to 5-4 win over Orioles

Oneil Cruz singled home the winning run in the 11th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles

APRIL 7, 2024 • Associated Press

Cruz focused on taking what pitchers give him PITTSBURGH -- Oneil Cruz nearly had an extra-base hit on his first swing Friday against Grayson Rodriguez, but the Pirates shortstop just pu...

APRIL 6, 2024 • MLB.COM

Grayson Rodriguez solid, Orioles hit 3 homers amid snow flurries to spoil Pirates' home opener, 5-2

Ryan O’Hearn, Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins homered, Grayson Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 strong innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat Pittsburgh 5-2 to spoil a Pirates home open...

APRIL 5, 2024 • Associated Press

Takes seat Sunday Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Impact Cruz started the first three games of the season and will receive Sunday off after going 5-for-14 with a home run, two RBI, three runs and six strikeouts. Alika Williams will step in at shortstop and bat eighth in the series finale at Miami.

MARCH 31, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

After long layoff, Oneil Cruz puts on power display with another opening day homer MIAMI — It seemingly went off the end of his bat, a routine fly ball for most normal players. But as anyone who has been following the Pirat...

MARCH 29, 2024 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

Jason Mackey: Between 'extreme' talent, maturity and motivation, Oneil Cruz has a chance to become MLB's next star After a difficult 2023, the biggest story for the Pirates might be Oneil Cruz proving he’s in the “1% of the 1%.”

MARCH 28, 2024 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

Cruz dropping jaws again with spring power show CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It was just another eyebrow-raising, jaw-dropping Monday afternoon in the Grapefruit League for Oneil Cruz, the Pirates'...

MARCH 18, 2024 • MLB.COM

Oneil Cruz reminds Pirates fans — and boaters — what's been missing with impressive power display against Phillies Oneil Cruz delivered a couple missiles on Sunday, reminding that the Pirates’ offensive might see a jump with him healthy in 2024.

MARCH 10, 2024 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

How fast? Cruz climbs Statcast ranks with two laser HRs BRADENTON, Fla. -- Coming off of missing almost all of 2023 after fracturing his left fibula, there were some questions coming into spring a...

MARCH 10, 2024 • MLB.COM

Pitching intrigue grows, as Andrew McCutchen, Oneil Cruz enjoy firsts in Pirates' win vs. Toronto Jared Jones and Quinn Priester looked good, Andrew McCutchen made his spring debut and Oneil Cruz homered on Tuesday.

MARCH 5, 2024 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

Oneil Cruz returns to action, Pirates bats struggle in loss to Orioles BRADENTON, Fla. — Even Mitch Keller couldn’t ignore the excitement. It had been since April 9, 2023 that he or anyone else had watched Oneil...

FEBRUARY 25, 2024 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

Making first spring start Cruz (ankle) will start at shortstop and bat leadoff in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

Impact Cruz didn't play Saturday in the Pirates' 5-3 loss to the Twins in the spring opener, but he'll be back in action for his first start at shortstop since April 9, when he suffered a fractured left ankle that required season-ending surgery. The 25-year-old reported to spring training at full strength and will look to get in as many game reps as possible to prepare himself for Opening Day on the heels of a lost season.

FEBRUARY 25, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

'Like he was built in a factory': The Oneil Cruz factor is huge for Pirates in 2024 BRADENTON, Fla. - Before the rest of the Pirates arrived for the first full-squad workout of spring training on Monday, Oneil Cruz leaned ba...

FEBRUARY 20, 2024 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Ortiz fans Cruz as Bucs' rotation battle heats up BRADENTON, Fla. -- A matchup of Oneil Cruz vs. Luis Ortiz is one of the best examples of power vs. power on the Pirates' roster. Cruz’s pop...

FEBRUARY 20, 2024 • MLB.COM

Fully healthy Cruz aims to give Bucs big boost BRADENTON, Fla. -- It can feel as if almost everything about Oneil Cruz is big. His stature. The exit velocities of the balls that jump off...

FEBRUARY 19, 2024 • MLB.COM

Fully recovered from injury Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed Saturday that Cruz is fully recovered from left ankle surgery, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Impact Shelton was asked about Cruz during the team's PiratesFest fan event and said the shortstop is "healthy" and "moving around." The 25-year-old wasn't able to make it back before the end of the season after undergoing surgery in early April to repair a fractured left fibula. Cruz did play in some instructional league games in the Dominican Republic, though, and should head into spring training without any restrictions. With a full season of healthy, Cruz represents a tantalizing fantasy talent.

JANUARY 7, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Pirates mailbag: Oneil Cruz, Henry Davis or someone else ... who's on first? The Pirates likely need to address what makes sense and what doesn’t is the No. 1 topic in this week’s Pirates mailbag.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

Ruled out for 2023 return Manager Derek Shelton said Tuesday that Cruz (ankle) will not return this season, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Impact Cruz has run into a couple of minor setbacks in his recovery from early-April surgery to repair a fractured left fibula and will now shift his focus toward being 100 percent healthy for the beginning of the 2024 campaign. The dynamic 24-year-old shortstop went as a top-80 pick in most fantasy drafts this spring but wound up appearing in only nine games for the Pirates. He holds a career .751 OPS with 19 home runs and 13 stolen bases through 98 total major-league games.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Pirates recall infielder Jared Triolo, Oneil Cruz runs for second time this week Jared Triolo returns to the Pittsburgh Pirates from Triple-A ball, while Oneil Cruz and Henry Davis have both enjoyed positive news in their...

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 • POST-GAZETTE.COM