According to Kevin Gorman, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz underwent surgery last night on his fractured left ankle suffered in Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
Gorman and other media members are reporting that Cruz could be out 10-12 weeks with the injury, which would put him out at least through mid-June. It’s unclear whether that estimate would be his return to the Pirates, or return to field. He’s going to need rehab games before he returns. The true timeline will be known as he begins to rehab and get into game shape. He was hitting .250/.375/.375 through nine games at the time of the injury.
The Pirates will place Cruz on the injured list today to open up a spot on the 26-man roster ahead of their game against the Houston Astros tonight at PNC Park. More on that news later.
UPDATE:
The Pittsburgh Pirates issued an update and it’s not as optimistic as the 10-12 week timetable. Here’s the press release from the team:
From Pirates Director of Sports Medicine, Todd Tomczyk:
Oneil Cruz had surgery last evening at Allegheny General Hospital by Dr. Greg Altman and Dr. Darren Frank. The surgery stabilized the fractured fibula and addressed the injury to the syndesmosis. The Pirates anticipate a return to action in four months.
That initial news had him returning to action possibly between mid-June and early July. Now we are talking about him returning no earlier than mid-August. He’s going to require rehab games once he does return to the field. The longer he misses, the longer the rehab game process will take.
The Pirates now have a need to find a long(er)-term replacement at shortstop.
UPDATE #2
Jason Mackey confirms that the four months estimate would be his time back to Pittsburgh. So it’s possible that the initial timeline wasn’t far off, but it was only talking about him returning to full baseball activities, which would occur before actual rehab games
The reaction to Oneil Cruz certainly stinks. Huge bummer for the Pirates. But a point of clarity: The four-month timeline is getting back to Pittsburgh, returning to MLB games. That isn’t the start of a rehab assignment. Have seen/heard assumptions of the latter.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) April 10, 2023
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Where is Kevin Polcovich when you need him?
Holy Crap!!! He is 52 now…… Son Kaden is in AA now with Seattle……Trade???
If this was a video game, i’d plop Santana at 3b and Hayes at SS.
But alas,
If I had something major done, I think i´d rather they send me to oakland instead of allegheny general
The head of Orthopedics at AGHand the best Ortho Trauma surgeon in Pittsburgh is Greg Altman’s brother Dan. Dan and Greg used to be with UPMC and Dan was the one who finally fixed her leg/hip issues. Thank goodness she never had issues with his work as we have UPMC insurance through work and he moved from Mercy to be the head of Orthopedics at AGH/AHN.
Altman did my wife’s ankle. Really good work and nice guy. UPMC also has some very good orthopedic doctors. I worked with a few of them.
Long after the leg/hip issue, my wife got diagnosed with a rare cancer. Her surgeon and oncologist were with UPMC while she was being treated. They are considered among the best in the country. Not long after she passed away in 2019 the Surgeon, Dr. Bartlett left UPMC also for AHN to head their Cancer center. He was up for UPMC’s job and her Oncologist Nathan Bahary, who worked a ton with Bartlett went with him. She picked them because they offered the most aggressive treatment and the best chance at the longest life. Had she lived longer, she would have lost their services as AHN won’t accept UPMC.
I am sorry to hear about your wife. I don’t know you besides comments on this website. But I could tell you were a nice person. And from what I gather you have successful children. And that is about all I can say about a Pollock I met through following the worst franchise in baseball/sports.
Lol! Thanks for the words. Gave me a smile for the day 🙂
Yea, it’s been a long, tough battle between the two health systems.
A positive spin is that we know we’re getting a big deadline addition for the stretch run. Now we just need to stay in contention that long.
“‘Contention’??? Are you back on moonshine??
TNBucs and I dare to dream!!!
Actually thought they would at least had a chance to get close to .500 and be a real spoiler for some teams this season if they stayed healthy. Well here is injury #2 ……. Hope that they can still be a thorn in some sides 🙂
did you say “contention?”
we talkin’ ’bout CONTENTION?
Did Iverson Allen sign with the Bucs? Please tell me it is so.
The only sensible call up would have to be Marcano if the Pirates expect to be taken seriously. Mathias or Owings would be nothing more than temporarily patching a gaping wound. They need to use this major setback as an opportunity to continue to develop younger players. I sure hope they don’t go bargain hunting for a replacement on the waiver wire.
BRey is player of the week.
SHOW HIM THE MONEY!!!
If he’d just add one year until the opt-out, I’d swing back to his side of the argument.
This or adding more and more money so opt out is not even needed. Open your stupid wallet, Nutting
I’ve decided to avoid the specifics. They all have lawyers and finance folks. Just figure it the eff out. Somewhere in there is a deal they can both sign.
Unfortunately, they did show him the money and he was ok with the money. The specifics are the issue. From reports it is the opt out that is the issues. If Reynolds4 is unwilling to budge on the 4 years, I can see his point due to his age and any more years. I can see the Pirates point of investing only for him to opt out and leave after 2026 with no comp or get stuck with several albatross seasons if he fizzles.
Well, that sucks.
The way you find a silver lining is use this as a chance to see guys who might be useful going forward, like Tucu and Mathias. No deadenders like Owings.
Looks like it’s Mathias. I’d prefer Marcano, but four months is a long time.
Just not Owings. Last year it would’ve been him, every day at SS. Maybe something’s changed.
Hey watch it, mister “something’s changed.” We’re not ready for change in Pittsburgh.
The argument for Mathias over Marcano is probably that Marcano needs regular ABs and whoever was going to be called up would be splitting time with Castro and Bae, and maybe Hayes.
Totally agree. Marcano has had a really up and down development process. It would be nice for him to develop everyday at SS in Indy for a few months, and ideally work through a slump or two, and then go up for good. He may not get that luxury tho… Castro looks like he should be in AAA reinventing his approach, Triolo is hurt, Peguero is too far away, and Owings/Bae will only hold the fort down for so long.
At least we’ll figure out who Mathias is. .820 OPS last season in 91 PA’s. 28 years old and controlled through 2027.
Mathias also has some real success, albeit brief, hitting ML pitching.
Mathias looks like a powerful dude
What does the timeframe have to do with it? Baseball games are played daily and one at a time. Play the best players.
Marcano has gotten the bat knocked out of his hands both times he’s been handed the opportunity to show what he can do and yet one week of AAA stats has given you such absolute confidence in his ability that you present pure indignation over it even being questioned.
My god, you people.
Reminds me of Gorky Hernandez who had a similar issue.
Come on, man. You know the rules by now.
It’s a process of deciding who’s the best player.
So best case he likely only plays 1/3 of a season.
& 100% of the post season
He’s gonna get traded to the Rays??
4 months per the Pirates
I am no doctor and have no idea what syndesmosis is or means to his injury but he is young and youth seems to heal fast, so lets just give him time and hopefully he gets back sooner than later.
The syndesmosis is just a structure of ligaments in/near the ankle, I would assume they just made sure the ankle heals with good stability
I don’t see any confirmation that Mathias is getting the call. But Jason amackey’s twitter. Only Kody Duncan speculating in my opinion. This is not a sure thing.
Justice De Los Santos reports that mathias has a locker.
https://twitter.com/justdelossantos/status/1645494829286137863
Thanks. I heard someone mention it was Mathias but didn’t verify so maybe it will be someone else.
Does anyone have any thoughts on Mathias? I haven’t watched more than a handful of PAs at Indy but I didn’t realize he had over 130 WRC+ last year in about 100 MLB PA’s? Not a large sample size but I’m wondering if we might catch lightning in a bottle with him. Scouting report I’ve read about him say he really doesn’t have arm to play on left side of infield?
On a broader note, I do sort of like these under the radar trades for Mathias and Connor Joe as both seem to have a lot of control left if they would work out.
short swing – strong dude – right handed
Thanks.
Be legends and shift KeBryan over.
I really think Ke could be a top 3-5 defensive SS for a few years if he did. Then bring cruz back with an OF glove…
that would be fun
B-b-but he’s a third baseman. It’s right there on his bubblegum card.
His card comes with a packet of sunflower seeds, with the slogan “you can eat them while working!”
Not sure why his agent didn’t try to leverage last year’s “incident” into an endorsement deal; seems like a missed opportunity.
What’s a bubblegum?
gawd, what happens if hayes gets hurt. I’d had Triolo in mind as a valid backup for all these spots but with him hurt, it’s so scrappy.
i guess theyd go Castro 3b, Bae SS, Mathias 2b, with Tucupita up and moving around.
Much better news than expected. If everything goes well, we’re seeing him this season again! Wishing him a very speedy recovery.
Now about the SS, I did not realize how weak the depth is… Triolo on IL didn’t help either I guess. Hopefully Castro can step his game up.
i really think castro’s gonna get exposed here, pretty badly, if given everyday time.
there’s almost no evidence that he can hit right handed pitching.
IMO, they need to move the entire 2b platoon over to SS while giving Mathias the 2b run. Bae can stay in and play 2b or OF vs some lefties.
Unrelated, but a cool article about jack.
Hindsight Is Better Than 20/20 for Jack Suwinski | FanGraphs Baseball
He is not handling high heat or low and away, both make him look bad on most swings he attempts at them. He needs to be in AAA fixing his swing.
It is cool but if Jack can’t get his wRC+ above 10 all the defense in the world won’t matter soon.
Dangers of extrmeely small samples and all, but when you take contact quality into account no hitter in baseball has been more “unlucky” than Jack Suwinski:
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/expected_statistics?type=batter&year=2023&position=&team=&min=q&sort=13&sortDir=asc
I’m still a tentative Suwinski believer who thinks he can be 2-2.5 WAR starter.
I saw signs that he might be pulling out of his early season slump. Obviously, the sac fly game winning RBI, but he had another good AB, where he hit the ball hard, but right at the CF’er. Also, no k’s and a BB’s
The shame of it is Cruz seemingly turned a corner with his approach. Almost walking as much as striking out! His defense is much improved. I was just waiting for the next step in his development, where he is smoking the ball, while maintaining the mature approach. This dude is going to be a star, I just hope this injury doesn’t delay it for a year.
As for leadoff, I’d probably just move Cutch up. Cutch, Brey, Santana. Also, they need to give Joe a little more time.
Yeah I wasn’t worried about his lack of power so far. The better approach in his at bats meant more for his development. In other words, he was basically league average at the plate without much good contact so far (which we all know would come). Dammit…
On the other hand, that “better approach” mostly came down to making more contact on pitches out of the zone…which also likely explains the decrease in contact quality. Not even Oneil Cruz is gonna make a career out of consistent quality contact chasing pitches.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/oneil-cruz-665833?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb#plate_discipline
That being said, the approach was still light years better than his first three months in the league, more a continuation of his September improvement last year.
This sucks.
When Bobby Bonilla was force fed into the MLB as a rule 5er he focused on his contact and pitch selection at the expense of power. Thus Syd Thrift was able to steal him back from the WSox cheap. Long term it made him a better power hitter. Good to see same arch in young Oniel.
I’ll just be thankful as long as this injury doesn’t turn out be career altering in anyway. It’s very unfortunate and I feel bad for him but if he could be back in MLB action anytime this year (let alone August) I would be very thankful for that.
As others have said in real time I thought he might have turn his ACL or blown up his knee.
Obviously have to wait and see how he progresses but I’m hoping for the best.
June 18-July 2 window to return is encouraging. Now is when the veterans need to earn their pay, by both picking up the slack between the lines and keeping the clubhouse upbeat.
The more I think about it, the more I like moving either Cutch or Hayes into the lead off spot in the lineup. At least until Swaggerty arrives.
Bae is thriving hitting either 7th or 8th. Keep him in his happy place. I wouldn’t risk making him think he is primarily responsible for taking up for Cruz by both playing his position and hitting lead off.
Hayes needs to be in the bottom of the order. He can’t hit. Period.
Hayes sucks
… at hitting. 100%
Defensively- one of the best at any position.
I still don’t get why the Pirates signed him to a long term deal…. Maybe they thought he was Cutch light- saw his bat getting to a little better than a league average 3rd baseman.
3b defensive all that important?
Guess you don’t remember Pedro.
being able to throw the ball to the glove, sure.
Right
Yeah that is encouraging. I thought he broke his leg or tore an ACL when it first happened.
He did break his leg. His fibula.
Yeah when I posted that they said ankle 10-12 weeks. So not as good of news as I thought this morning.
how many more weeks until we can call up Nick?
they arent doing that. they have a giant pile of flotsam and jetsam to evaluate before adding someone like him to the 40.
You’ll see Liover before you see Nick. Maybe itd be different if Nick looked like he was pounding down the door.
His batting line at AAA isn’t great right now. 6/29 3 singles, a double and two homers. 13 strikeouts and 6 walks.
If he’s striking out 13 times in 29 ABs, how do you think that will fare vs the best arms on the planet?
I’m thinking he’d strike out about half the time
Well, he already is, so . . . .
35 PA 13 k’s gives him 37% K rate not 50%. Also we are always saying he stinks but even with the strike out issues, because 37% k rate is crazy high. He seems to always have an OPS over 800. I’ve almost given up hope on him but even if he strikes out 30% of the time but has an OPS over 800 do I really care?
I’m guessing he’s getting the majority of damage on arms that will never see the Show.
Alright buccos lets dig in and see how much fight we have
If he knew he was going to make impact it would have been better to keep his feet and put his shoulder down
It was a baseball play, sh*t happens.
If it’s some idiot missing half the season because he punched a wall, have at ‘im. Actual baseball, otoh, is hard.
I’m just saying from a coaching standpoint, I’m telling my guess if you’ve got to make a late slide, don’t.
Yep. Split second play and you decide to slide a step or two too late, and this is a possibility. Guys get hurt, it’s the way it is.
Honestly that’s about the best news anyone could expect given the way the injury looked when it happened. It doesn’t sound like anything else was damaged and assuming (always a dangerous thing to do) he heals up like someone his age should, it could have been worse. Good luck and hang in there young man.
As awful as this feels, it could’ve been worse, at 1st i thought it was the knee shredded to pieces. As most of us know, you heal better when you’re young. Glad that he should be able to make it back & it’s not a lost season for him
This is why Pirates fans can’t have nice things.