Pirates A to Z: Shortstop Oneil Cruz's season shortened by surgery on fractured left ankle

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster.

Player: Oneil Cruz

Position: Shortstop

Bats: Left

Throws: Right

Age: 25

Height: 6-foot-7

Weight: 215 pounds

2023 MLB statistics: Batted .250/375/.375 with one double, one home run, four RBIs and three stolen bases in nine games.

Contract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2026.

Acquired: From the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with pitcher Angel German, in exchange for reliever Tony Watson in July 2017.

This past season: Cruz slashed .233/.294/.450 with 13 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs and 54 RBIs and broke Statcast records in 87 games in finishing sixth in 2022 NL rookie of the year voting.

So, he set lofty goals for his first full season.

“I’m looking for 30-30 or 40-40 this year,” Cruz said through team translator Stephen Morales in February. “The one that is going to be under my control this year is to go play hard and put on a good show for the people who go out to Pittsburgh to see me play.”

If Oneil Cruz's 2022 highlight reel is this ???? ... what does he have in store for us in 2023? #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/T6M3rIdfv7

— MLB (@MLB) March 23, 2023

Oneil Cruz #OpeningDay things ????

(via @Pirates) pic.twitter.com/rl3yJvRrrP

— SI MLB (@si_mlb) March 30, 2023

Cruz hit a 425-foot home run in a 5-4 win at Cincinnati on Opening Day,

Pirates fans only got to see Cruz play three games at PNC Park, as he fractured his left ankle on an awkward slide into home plate against the Chicago White Sox on April 9, an injury that required season-ending surgery.

With a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning, Cruz drew a leadoff walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a Bryan Reynolds single to right field. Cruz tried to score when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a chopper to third but Yoan Moncada’s throw beat him to the plate. Cruz threw his hands up and attempted to slide, but his left leg buckled under him as he collided with catcher Seby Zavala.

Oneil Cruz suffered a broken ankle on this play. How long will he be out for the @Pirates? Our panel of Pro Docs share their analysis. #LetsGoBucs

Here >>> https://t.co/3rTzmDDXsB pic.twitter.com/zl9oCv7Y2F

— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) April 9, 2023

Benches cleared when Zavala screamed at Cruz and Carlos Santana, waiting to bat, took exception. Pirates assistant athletic trainer Tony Leo covered Cruz to protect him from the pushing and shoving.

The injury dealt a serious setback to a Pirates team that had won six of its first nine games, including five of the previous six. Not only was Cruz the starting shortstop — he had turned six double plays and had only one throwing error in 30 chances — but he was their leadoff batter, fastest player and projected as a 30-homer, 100-RBI hitter.

“It’s just a big blow to our lineup, to our team,” Hayes said. “It sucks any time anyone gets injured on your team. He’s our leadoff hitter and our shortstop, so it definitely sucks. It affects it a lot, just the range that he has and the presence he has on the field, the guy he is, the leadoff hitter and how he runs the bases — all of that. He impacts the game in a lot of different ways just by being on the field, so it’s definitely a big blow.”

Added Pirates manager Derek Shelton: “Obviously, losing Oneil is a blow because he’s a big part of what we do on both sides of the ball. The flip side of that, because of the depth we’ve created over the last couple years we’re probably in a better spot to handle it than we have been previously.”

The Pirates proved Shelton wrong, as shortstop became a revolving door of mostly unproven players. Seven players made starts at short, led by Tucupita Marcano (44), Liover Peguero and Alika Williams (33 each) and Rodolfo Castro (26). They also tried nine other players in the leadoff spot, with Hayes (45) getting the most starts.

Initially, the Pirates projected that Cruz would miss four months and hoped to have him back for the final month or so. That timeline was delayed and his recovery plateaued when Cruz experienced discomfort on the first day he started his running program in mid-August.

“You don’t want it to happen, but it’s normal with the kind of surgery we had to have a little bit of a setback,” Cruz said. “But we’re optimistic that we’re going to go back out again and do our best to get back as possible.”

By mid-September, Cruz still hadn’t started a rehabilitation assignment, so the Pirates pulled the plug on any chances of him returning in ’23. Cruz took the setback to his schedule in stride, focusing on his health moving forward instead of dwelling on the lost season. By late September, he was crushing batting practice balls into the upper decks.

What a sight! Oneil Cruz is taking BP in Philly. Launching rockets into the upper deck. pic.twitter.com/7VQYB5wdhN

— Greg Brown (@gbrowniepoints) September 27, 2023

Oneil Cruz working with Pirates bench coach Don Kelly on fielding grounders pic.twitter.com/3x5vEDxJJP

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) July 15, 2023

“It’s hard not to be out there helping my teammates, being out there with my teammates,” Cruz said. “Mentally, I’ve been in a good spot the whole time. I’m always a positive guy. Physically, we’ve got some setbacks, but we’re going to overcome those. I feel a lot better now.”

The Pirates spent 33 days in first place, had the best record in the National League through the first month and made a 14-win improvement without Cruz. That only furthered their frustration, believing they could have been a contender with a five-tool player leading off their lineup and providing range at short.

“It was a significant loss for us for a couple reasons,” Shelton said. “No. 1, the strides that we saw him make at the plate. Just in the short period of time in spring training, the ability to shorten up, the ability to swing at strikes. The second thing is, when you lose a guy in the middle of the diamond that you’re counting on, it’s a significant blow to our team. And it changed the whole complexion of our lineup.”

The future: In an appearance on MLB Network’s Hot Stove last week, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said they hadn’t made a decision on whether to have him play winter ball.

“It was a serious injury, and for a guy that big and that athletic who relies on his athleticism and moving fast, we needed to make sure that rehab went well,” Cherington said. “We’re still debating and talking to him about the pros and cons of maybe getting in some games somewhere this winter. Haven’t made a decision on that yet, but based on all the information we have and watching him, we feel very good that he’s going to come into spring training ready to continue his progression as a player.”

Shelton counted Cruz among the players he already has penciled into the starting lineup next season, joining outfielders Jack Suwinski and Reynolds, an NL Gold Glove winner in Hayes at third base and All-Star pitchers in starter Mitch Keller and closer David Bednar.

“He can impact the game in a lot of ways, as we’ve seen. It’s a different presence when he’s in the lineup,” Cherington said. “He was still learning at the major-league level, but he can do some things in a game that others can’t, and I just think we missed that. It wasn’t specifically defense or hitting or baserunning. There’s just things he can do that others can’t. Unfortunately for us and our fans, we just didn’t get to see that this year. So the focus is on helping in any way to get back to where he can do that next year.”