After surgery on fractured left ankle, Pirates SS Oneil Cruz expected to miss 4 months
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Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz underwent surgery late Sunday night to repair his fractured left ankle and is expected to miss four months.
Drs. Greg Altman and Darren Frank performed the operation at Allegheny General Hospital to stabilize the fractured fibula and addressed the injury to the syndesmosis, according to a statement from Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates’ director of sports medicine.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he saw Cruz before the surgery and was able to talk with Cruz on Monday morning via FaceTime with bullpen catcher Raul Hernandez. The Pirates placed Cruz on the 10-day injured list Monday afternoon.
“He was smiling and was in better spirits. I think having a little more of an idea of what was going on and how it was going about, he was in a better sense,” Shelton said. “Excited once he’s to the point where he’s out of the hospital getting him back around our group because I think it’s important when you have guys that are on the IL are around your group to be part of the club.”
Cruz, 24, was injured while sliding into home plate, where he collided with catcher Seby Zavala, in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Benches cleared when Pirates designated hitter Carlos Santana took exception to Zavala screaming at Cruz about the late slide while he was on the ground, writhing in pain. Cruz was helped off the field by Pirates bench coach Don Kelly and physical therapist Seth Steinauer.
Shelton said he took solace in the fact that Cruz is OK and was smiling when they chatted Monday morning.
“That smile is infectious,” Shelton said. “We’re talking about a 24-year-old kid here. … My concern is more about the kid than worrying about a timetable or what’s going on. I think (Sunday) we didn’t know. It was so soon after because it happened in the sixth inning. At that time, we knew that there was the fracture, but I mean, when you have surgery, until you get in there, you never know what’s going to go on. Like we’ve said numerous times, living in a speculative world, don’t like to do that. Now that we’ve gotten past it and we have the timetable, it gives you a sense of relief of what they saw and what they were able to do.”
Cruz was slashing .250/.359/.375 with a double, a home run, four RBIs, seven runs scored and two stolen bases through the first nine games for the Pirates (6-3), who had won five of their past six. The 6-foot-7, 220-pounder finished sixth in National League rookie of the year voting last season, when he slashed .233/.294/.450 with 13 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs, 54 RBIs, 45 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 87 games.
Rodolfo Castro, who moved from second base to shortstop for the final two innings, is a candidate to replace Cruz in the starting lineup. The Pirates recalled infielder Mark Mathias from Triple-A Indianapolis before Monday’s series-opening game against the Astros. Mathias, acquired from Texas in March, is slashing .333/.459/.467 and can play the infield and outfield but was in the starting lineup at second base Monday night against the Astros.
Castro played 26 innings at shortstop over five Grapefruit League games in spring training, filling in on Cruz’s days off to get at bats with a crowded competition for playing time at second base, so Shelton isn’t worried about whether Castro can handle it.
“He actually got a ton of reps there in spring training, which makes me feel a little bit bit better,” Shelton said. “If it was a situation where he hadn’t, maybe a little bit more concerned because on that side of the ball, you have to move your feet, you have to continue to do things that are different than second. But my confidence level is high that he’s going to catch the ball.”
Related:
• Pirates dealt a ‘big blow’ as shortstop Oneil Cruz fractures ankle in home plate collision
• Oneil Cruz’s broken ankle overshadows Pirates’ series-clinching win over White Sox
• With Pirates SS Oneil Cruz out, Rodolfo Castro ‘ready for whatever position they need me to play’
• Madden Monday: Oneil Cruz’s injury is ‘further proof that they should allow the runner to run over the catcher’