According to multiple sources, the Pittsburgh Pirates plan to recall Oneil Cruz from Indianapolis and add outfielder Bligh Madris to the 40-man/26-man roster tomorrow. Cruz played two games in the majors last year, while the 26-year-old Madris will be making his big league debut.
Shortstop Oneil Cruz is being called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a source familiar with the situation.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) June 19, 2022
Cruz started this year off horribly, both on offense and defense, but he has picked it up until having a down week this current week, going 4-for-20 with a double and two walks. He was our Player of the Week last week for the system, and he’s had an .866 OPS since the start of May. On the year he is hitting .232/.326/.422 in 55 games, with nine homers and 11 steals in 17 attempts.
Madris did a great job for the Pirates during Spring Training this year before being a late cut, then went down to Indianapolis and put up the best numbers on the team, hitting .304/.385/.519 in 46 games. He currently ranks seventh in the International League in OPS. Ji-hwan Bae is the only other player on Indianapolis among the top 40 hitters in the league, and he ranks 17th.
More on these reported moves tomorrow once they become official.
