Oneil Cruz

Fantasy News

• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Wraps up solid homestand

  Rotowire Jun 12, 2025

  Cruz went 1-for-3 with a run scored, a walk and a stolen base Wednesday against the Marlins. Cruz provided an offensive spark early in the game, singling to lead off the first inning before stealing second base. He then reached base on a walk with one out in the fifth inning and was driven in on a three-run home run by Andrew McCutchen. Cruz appeared in eight games during Pittsburgh's homestand and hit .241 with three RBI, four runs scored and four stolen bases. He now has swiped 24 bags on the season, good for second in the league.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Beginning on bench Saturday

  Rotowire Jun 7, 2025

  Cruz is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against Philadelphia. Cruz's last day off was May 19 -- since then he started 16 straight games and posted a .902 OPS with four home runs and six stolen bases, albeit with a 34.7 percent strikeout rate. The exciting center fielder will rest to begin Saturday's matchup while Alexander Canario starts in center. Meanwhile, second baseman Nick Gonzales is sliding up to the leadoff spot typically occupied by Cruz.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homers in win

  Rotowire May 28, 2025

  Cruz went 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 10-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Cruz drove in a run in the fifth inning and then put an exclamation point on things with a home run in the eighth that came off the bat at 109 mph. Over his past 10 games, the 26-year-old has hit safely seven times while collecting four home runs, eight RBI, nine runs scored and two steals. On the season, he's slashing .230/.352/.489 with 12 homers, 26 RBI, 32 runs scored and 18 stolen bases across 210 plate appearances.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Power binge continues

  Rotowire May 26, 2025

  Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Sunday against the Brewers. Cruz led off the third inning with his 11th homer of the season and third in a four-game set against Milwaukee. Sunday's shot was particularly impressive, as it was the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era at 122.9 mph. Cruz is hitting only .210 across 17 games in May, though he has 12 runs scored, seven RBI and six stolen bases in that span.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Slugs two homers

  Rotowire May 24, 2025

  Cruz went 2-for-5 with two solo home runs during Friday's 6-5 win over the Brewers. Cruz opened the scoring Friday in the third inning with a 442-foot blast into center field that left his bat at 118 mph. He then came up clutch with the Buccos down a run in the ninth by hitting another solo shot 427 feet into right-center field. The 26-year-old's power display elevated his OPS from .783 to .822, and he now has four hits in his last three games after going 0-for-15 across his prior five contests.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes two bags

  Rotowire May 21, 2025

  Cruz went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and two stolen bases Tuesday against the Reds. Cruz was out of the lineup for five straight games due to a back injury last week, and he has yet to record a hit in 11 at-bats since returning. Tuesday also marked the first time he reached base in that span. While his performance has been poor lately, his willingness to run suggests he's starting to feel healthier.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Idle for series opener

  Rotowire May 19, 2025

  Cruz is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Reds. Cruz was recently held out of the lineup for four straight games due to back soreness, but he rejoined the starting nine for the final two contests of the weekend series versus the Phillies, going 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts. With lefty Nick Lodolo on the bump for Cincinnati, the lefty-hitting Cruz was unlikely to get back on track Monday, so he'll get a day off. Alexander Canario will spell Cruz in center field, while third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes settles in as the Pirates' leadoff hitter.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Out of Wednesday's lineup

  Rotowire May 14, 2025

  Cruz (back) is not in the Pirates' starting lineup against the Mets on Wednesday. Cruz is out of the lineup for a fourth consecutive game due to back soreness that flared up during Saturday's extra-innings loss to Atlanta. The Pirates have a day off Thursday, so Cruz will have additional time to rest ahead of Friday's series opener against the Phillies. Alexander Canario, Ji Hwan Bae and Bryan Reynolds will man the outfield for Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Sitting again Tuesday

  Rotowire May 13, 2025

  Cruz (back) isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets. Tuesday will mark the third consecutive absence for Cruz due to his sore back. The Pirates haven't announced any plans to move him to the injured list, though that could change if the 26-year-old doesn't return within the next few days. Ji Hwan Bae will start in center field Tuesday and bat eighth.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Viewed as day-to-day

  Rotowire May 11, 2025

  Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said prior to Sunday's game against Atlanta that Cruz is considered day-to-day due to lower back tightness, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "We don't have a full update yet, because he was going to go through some stuff and see how he felt," Cherington said of Cruz. "He felt a little tightness in that low back as he pulled up on the bases, as people saw [in Saturday's 3-2 loss]." Cruz appeared to tweak his back after reaching base during his final plate appearance in the ninth inning, but he played an inning in the field before he was lifted from Saturday's game in the top of the 11th inning. The Pirates don't seem overly concerned about Cruz's back issue forcing him to the injured list, as the team didn't call up an extra infielder from the minors ahead of Sunday's game. With a quick turnaround for Sunday's contest and a tough lefty (Chris Sale) on the mound for Atlanta, the Pirates may have viewed the series finale as an opportune time to give the lefty-hitting Cruz his first day off since April 20.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: On bench Sunday

  Rotowire May 11, 2025

  Cruz (back) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta. Cruz exited late in Saturday's 3-2 loss after appearing to tweak his back, which will keep him out of the starting nine for at least one game. Alexander Canario will shift to center field while Tommy Pham starts in left with Cruz sitting out.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Dealing with back injury

  Rotowire May 10, 2025

  Cruz was removed from Saturday's 3-2 extra innings loss to Atlanta due to lower-back tightness, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports. Per Stumpf, Cruz appeared to tweak his back in the ninth frame and was replaced by Liover Peguero. Cruz will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury, but he is in jeopardy of missing Sunday's series finale. Ji Hwan Bae would be in line to see more work in the outfield if Cruz is unable to play.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes two more bags

  Rotowire May 3, 2025

  Cruz went 0-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and two stolen bases Friday against the Padres. Cruz has been one of the few bright spots in the Pirates' lineup, and he continued his breakout Friday. He stole multiple bases in a game for the second time this season, bringing his total on the campaign to 14. He's also scored 15 runs in 17 games since taking over as Pittsburgh's leadoff hitter.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Continues powering offense

  Rotowire Apr 27, 2025

  Cruz went 2-for-4 with a walk, a homer and two RBI during Saturday's 8-4 loss to the Dodgers. The 26-year-old opened the game with a leadoff homer and followed up with an RBI single in the fifth inning. Cruz has collected multiple hits in four of the last five games and has also homered in three of the past four. He has a .267/.370/.567 slash line with eight long balls, 16 RBI and 17 runs through 25 games, and he's also tied for the MLB lead with 12 stolen bases.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Not in Sunday's lineup

  Rotowire Apr 20, 2025

  Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports. Cruz is receiving Sunday off after a run of seven straight starts, during which he batted .269 (7-for-26) with three homers, three stolen bases, six RBI and six runs. Alexander Canario is getting a look in center field for the series finale versus Cleveland.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Swipes 10th bag of 2025

  Rotowire Apr 19, 2025

  Cruz went 1-for-3 with one walk and a stolen base in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Guardians. The Pirates' offense struggled Saturday, but Cruz managed to get on base twice and registered his 10th steal of the season in the third inning. He leads the majors in steals and ranks 12th and 14th in the National League in walks (13) and home runs (five), respectively.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Blasts grand slam vs. Washington

  Rotowire Apr 16, 2025

  Cruz went 2-for-4 with a grand slam in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Nationals. Cruz put the Pirates up for good in the sixth inning, when he took the first pitch he saw from Eduardo Salazar deep to right field for a 385-foot grand slam. It was the third home run of the season for Cruz and his first since April 2 against the Rays. The 26-year-old outfielder has begun the season slashing .222/.343/.426 with three home runs and nine RBI in 67 plate appearances, and he leads the majors with eight stolen bases.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Sitting Saturday

  Rotowire Apr 12, 2025

  Cruz (finger) is not in the Pirates' starting lineup against the Reds on Saturday. Saturday marks the third straight absence for Cruz after he was hit on the finger by a pitch in Tuesday's contest against St. Louis. He could be available as a pinch runner, but Alexander Canario will draw the start in center field and bat sixth against Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Managing finger soreness

  Rotowire Apr 9, 2025

  Manager Derek Shelton said after Wednesday's game against St. Louis that Cruz wasn't in the lineup due to finger soreness. Cruz took a pitch off his finger in the seventh inning of Tuesday's contest, and he was pinch hit for when his spot in the batting order came around again in the ninth. Shelton noted that the 26-year-old was still available to pinch run or act as a defensive sub Wednesday, but the team wanted to make sure he didn't hit as a precaution. The Pirates' off day Thursday will give Cruz an extra 24 hours to recover, and he'll look to return to the starting nine in Friday's series opener in Cincinnati.

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• Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Resting for day game

  Rotowire Apr 9, 2025

  Cruz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals. The Pirates haven't indicated that Cruz is dealing with an injury, but fantasy managers may nonetheless want to keep an eye on his status heading into the team's weekend series with the Reds. Andrew McCutchen came on to pinch hit for the lefty-hitting Cruz in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 5-3 loss to St. Louis, though it's possible that had more to do with the Cardinals having a lefty reliever (JoJo Romero) on the bump. Cruz now finds himself out of the lineup for a day game after a night game, despite the fact that the right-handed Erick Fedde is starting for St. Louis. With a team off day on tap Thursday, Pittsburgh may have wanted to build in some extra rest for Cruz, who had started in 11 of its first 12 games.

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