Juan

Cruz

If Cruz can impress, he has a chance to stick around in place of Shawn Estes after Prior comes off the DL.

The Cubs might be willing to trade Cruz for a quality shortstop prospect, but they’re looking for someone better than Josh Wilson.

Shawn Estes will move back a day to Sunday. ''Cruz could make more than one start; Prior maybe could miss another start,’' manager Dusty Baker said. Baker did not say Estes would be bumped from the rotation, but it’s a real possibility if Cruz outperforms him while Prior is out. Cruz has a 6.92 ERA this year, all in relief. As a starter for Triple-A Iowa he is 4-0 with a 2.01 ERA. Hold off on using him in Minute Maid Park.

Cruz is good enough to be in the Cubs’ rotation but Shawn Estes doesn’t deserve to lose his spot. He needs to get regular work, though, so the Cubs would be better off sending him to Triple-A Iowa than having him languish as the 12th man in the pen.

Baker might even hold off on using a fifth starter until Saturday, going with Mark Prior Thursday. He says that each Cruz and Estes will both make at least one more start, but that the Cubs will not go to a 6-man rotation.

Cruz had a shutout going until he started the seventh with two walks and an RBI single. The remaining two runners came around to score after he was pulled.

He’s currently scheduled to pitch tonight.

Randy Winn’s homer was the only run. This should bring a halt to any speculation that Cruz will lose his rotation spot to the newly acquiring Livan Hernandez. He was already pitching better than Enrique Gonzalez, and he’s a decent play in NL-only leagues most weeks.

Three of Cruz’s four wins -- probably his three best starts -- have come against his former clubs. He’s allowed one run through 10 innings while defeating the Cubs twice, and he threw seven scoreless innings for a victory over the Braves on June 1. He has a 4.64 ERA in 13 starts and seven relief appearances.

The Diamondbacks have yet to comment on whose spot Hernandez will take, but Cruz and Enrique Gonzalez are the possibilities.