Injured Pirates star hands out his own bobblehead to fans

Cruz entered the season as one of the signs of hope for the Pirates, especially after a strong finish to the 2022 regular season. In his brief career, he has consistently made highlights for his incredibly high exit velocity on batted balls as well as his strong arm and speed on the bases. 

It has not been uncommon for him to have the hardest-hit ball, hardest throw and fasted running speed in the same game.

The Pirates are hoping he can not only be their next superstar, but also a foundation piece for their rebuild for the next decade. He was off to a promising start to the 2023 season and showed a lot of improvement in some of his biggest areas of weakness, including his plate discipline and a cutdown on his strikeouts. 

He broke his ankle on an awkward slide into home plate on Easter Sunday and is targeting a hopeful return later this summer.  

In his absence, they have used a rotation of Tucupita Marcano, Rodolfo Castro and Chris Owings to try to replace him at shortstop. The Pirates have cooled off considerably since a 20-8 start in April but still enter Saturday's game with a 29-27 record and are just a half a game out of first place in a competitive National League Central Division.