The Pirates had been trying to get Oneil Cruz back this season. That doesn’t look like it will happen at this point. Justice delos Santos reports that Cruz has stopped his running progression due to left foot general soreness.
Oneil Cruz’s rehab has “plateaued,” per director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk. Cruz has stopped his running progression due to left foot general soreness.
Regarding if Cruz can still play this year, Tomczyk said, “It’s tough to tell right now, but we are running out of days.”
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) August 23, 2023
There’s an argument that Cruz could benefit from returning and heading into the offseason with everyone knowing he’s healthy. The Pirates are counting on him to be one of their biggest producers, and this injury raises a lot of questions. The better approach would be to ensure he’s healthy for next season by not rushing him back.
QUICK PIRATES RECAP
PIRATES (57-70) VS Cardinals
Score: Cardinals 6, Pirates 4
Pittsburgh Starter: Luis Ortiz, RHP (5.37)
–Line: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B (2-for-5, 2B, HR [9])
Attendance: 11,504
Notable Performers
- Liover Peguero, 2B (2-for-4)
- Andrew McCutchen, DH (3-for-4, 3 2B)
One Sentence Recap: The Pirates couldn’t pull off the sweep against the Cardinals, but it’s good to see Ke’Bryan Hayes continue his hitting.
DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN
Altoona won 8-1 last night on a good team-effort. Check out this recap from their Youtube account for the condensed version of the game. The Prospect Watch has live reports from the game.
DAILY ROSTER MOVES
- Dauri Moreta was optioned to Indianapolis to make room for Luis Ortiz. Moreta has been a strong reliever this year, but allowed a 11.57 ERA in 4.2 innings across five appearances before being sent down.
AROUND THE SYSTEM
I’m in Altoona this week, and the Prospect Watch has live reports each day.
INDIANAPOLIS
Jared Triolo played his first three games back in Triple-A at second base. Last night, he got his first start at shortstop.
ALTOONA
Aaron Shortridge continued his impressive pitching in August, taking on a lefty-heavy lineup last night.
GREENSBORO
My first report from last week’s trip to Greensboro is on the progress of Bubba Chandler. Check back later today for the next report from the High-A level.
An editor’s note on these features: They will not include comments. These articles are the result of me watching games, doing research, asking questions, the subjects of the interviews being open in answering those questions, and then ultimately it takes time for me to arrange it all into a story. It’s a laborious process for each story, and going forward I will not be allowing anyone else to have any input on these pages. This approach is modeled after Baseball America, where there’s no comment section. With all of the reporting effort that goes into these articles, and the fact that a comment section can allow less informed people to have a final word on the page, this is the only approach that makes sense. Feel free to comment on anything on the site or about the Pirates in P2Daily.
BRADENTON
Owen Kellington, drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, has a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings this month, after five shutout innings last night. Check out his line and all of the other action in the daily Prospect Watch.
