Oneil Cruz

26 February 2025

Coming back from illness

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday that Cruz is being brought along slowly in spring training because he came to camp with an illness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Analysis

Cruz is no longer ill, but since the ailment had prevented him from doing workouts for a while, the Pirates are taking it easy on him in the early weeks of camp. The center fielder has played in one of the team's first four Grapefruit League games, picking up a single and a stolen base Tuesday versus Atlanta. Cruz should be ready for a regular workload soon.