Pirates GM Updates Oneil Cruz's Injury

“Better every day. We’re seeing him show up ready to do more activities,” Cherington said. “He’s not quite ready to go through the protocol testing that every player needs to go through to come off the concussion IL. He’s not quite ready for that, but he is making progress. We’re still certainly hoping that this is a matter of days. But it is a concussion, so we will literally take it a day at a time.”

Since Cruz went on the concussion list, he'll need clearance from both the MLB and the Players Association, before he starts a rehab assignment and then rejoins the Pirates.

Cherington said they are being careful with Cruz, as head injuries, particularly concussions, can vary in severity, and they'll work with him every day and see how he's doing. It's a reason he's a proponent of the seven-day injured list, which gives players and teams time to deal with those injuries in a timely manner.

He also said that they have to work closely with the MLB on a return for Cruz and that he won't return until they know he's fully ready to go.

"Well the minimum placement is different, it's a seven day, instead of in a position player's case, a 10-day. It gives you some flexability if it's a really minor concussion to bring a player back sooner," Cherington said.

"I think what it also does, it really encourages everybody involved, not that maybe we shouldn't need encouragement, but it encourages everybody invovled, including the player, to use the IL, basically because, you're only potentially missing seven days.

"You want to be sort of extra careful with any head-related injury, so I think it's wise to make that concussion IL shorter for those reasons, but it's not always seven days, of course and there's different levels of concussions and each one is a little bit different and each player is going to respond a little bit differently to it, which is why you really just have to take it case-by-case and day-by-day."

“Once the player is in the concussion protocol, you’re testing every day,” Cherington said. “We have a self-report mechanism that guys like Oneil are communicating with us when they wake up in the morning, kind of grading how they feel that day relative to yesterday.

They’ll do that again when they get to the park, as the self-report slowly improves, we start to introduce activities, light activities, that increases more activity and it reaches a threshold when they’re starting to feel ready for baseball work is when we would start to think about, 'Okay, we consider doing the test again on this day.

"We're in constant communication with the league about that because the league, the concussion IL appropriately has oversight over when a player would be taken off and ultimately activated.

"So that's just all part of this process and every team goes through it and in Oneil’s case, he will not be out there active until we’re very confident he’s checked off every box as part of that process and the league has signed off.”

This marks the first time that Cruz has gone on the injured list this season and the first time since April 11, 2023, when he suffered a left ankle fracture that kept him out the rest of that campaign.

Cruz has dealt with some injury issues this season, but nothing as serious as this. He most recently left a game vs. the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on July 12, after limping following hitting a single. He left the game and didn't start on July 13, but would return that game as a pinch-hitter.

He also made a steal attempt late vs. the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on May 10, but didn't slide head first normally and pulled up, ending up dealing with lower back discomfort and departing the game.

Cruz missed the next four games, but returned vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 16.

He has struggled from the plate this season, slashing .207/.304/.398 for an OPS of .702, with 81 hits in 392 at-bats, 17 doubles, two triples, a team-high 18 home runs, 51 RBIs, 54 walks to 145 strikeouts and 34 stolen bases on 38 attempts.

The Pirates have an outfield group of Alexander Canario, Bryan Reynolds, Andrew McCutchen, Ronny Simon, Pham, Suwinski, plus utility man Liover Peguero.