shortstop Oneil Cruz departure decision mislead Pirates miserable

PIRATESOneil Cruz’s Solid Season Could Become Great With One Improvement..,

If only one thing was known for sure regarding Oneil Cruz heading into this season it’s that he was going to have to shake off some rust.

Cruz appeared in only nine games with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season after suffering an ankle fracture on Apr. 9. The end result was surgery and while preliminary reports were that he would return to the field late in the season, Cruz was sidelined for the entire year.

“I think I’ve already said or would have said that if the first six to eight weeks were a little up-and-down for him, that wouldn’t have surprised me coming off of basically a missed year and a major injury,” general manager Ben Cherington said at PNC Park on Saturday.

It was a long road back for the 25-year-old, but Cruz returned to the field in a Pirates’ uniform for Opening Day in Miami.

Cruz has played 59 of the Pirates’ 65 games to start the season and is slashing .247/.303/.435 with 13 doubles, a triple, nine home runs, 25 RBIs and fi

ve steals..