Oneil Cruz in Tuesday’s lineup against Tigers

Cruz’ home run was his 15th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Keider Montero in the fifth inning. Cruz was playing in his first game since suffering a hand injury on June 7. He’s hitting .265 with an .832 OPS and 46 RBI this year.

He’s back, except he’s not starting tonight against lefty Framber Valdez. Cruz, who missed more than two months with a hand fracture, went 3-for-22 over six games on his rehab assignment. Although he’s clearly not at his best just yet, it’s probably worth getting him back into fantasy lineups anyway and hoping he steals some bases right away. His return figures to push Jake Mangum to a corner and result in some DH time for Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez. Ronny Simon, who had been DHing a lot, was sent down to open up a spot.

The Pirates decided to extend Cruz’s rehab assignment after he was reevaluated earlier this week. The 27-year-old center fielder is working his way back from multiple non-displaced fractures in his left hand that sent him to the injured list in early June. There’s a decent chance he’s ready to return to Pittsburgh’s lineup later this week.

Cruz played seven innings in center field on Sunday and will now be evaluated by the Pirates. His results haven’t been great in Triple-A, but if the organization deems that he’s healthy enough to return, we could see Cruz back in the lineup this week.

Cruz is on the precipice of returning to Pittsburgh after hitting the injured list with multiple non-displaced fractures in his left hand back in early June. The 27-year-old fantasy standout will likely require a couple additional tune-up contests to get back up to speed in the wake of a lengthy layoff. He logged seven innings in center field on Friday, his first game action in nearly two months. There’s a strong possibility he’s ready to return at some point next week.

Cruz has been sidelined since June 10th with non-displaced fractures in his hand. Given that it’s been almost two months since he played in a game, we should expect him to need some time to get his timing and rhythm back at the plate. However, the Pirates are also now 4.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, so they may not have the luxury of holding Cruz out for a few more weeks.

That means Cruz will begin hitting in addition to the running he’s been doing. We’ll see how his fractured left hand responds to hitting high velocity, but assuming all goes well, we could see him begin a rehab assignment as soon as next week.

The procedural move doesn’t impact Cruz’s return timeline very much as he’s now eligible to come off the injured list on August 8. The 27-year-old fantasy standout has progressed to swinging a bat as he works his way back from a pair of left hand fractures. He should make it back to Pittsburgh’s lineup at some point in early August following a rehab assignment.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that he believed Cruz would be back soon after the All-Star break, so the fact that he’s swinging a bat now would make sense with that timeline. He will need to progress to facing live pitching and then begin rehab games next week or the week after. It’s looking like the Pirates will get their star back before the end of the month.

Cherington mentioned that both players “are progressing well in Florida, but both will be sidelined until after the All-Star Break.” The team hopes that they will both be back in the lineup “not too long after the break.” Cruz has been out since June 10 with non-displaced fractures in his hand. He was originally expected to miss “at least one month,” which will be in the middle of this week. He could likely begin a rehab assignment in the next couple of weeks and, assuming he can swing without pain, be back in the Pirates lineup soon after. With both Horwitz and Cruz back, the Pirates may have to be creative to find at-bats for surging Esmerlyn Valdez and Tyler Callihan.