\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”: 550, “contentType”: “rich”},{ “__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “Despite an injury that has sidelined him, Cruz has been a pillar of the Buccaneers club and their dugout this season. Shelton is hoping that the fact that Cruz has focused on the games even while he’s been sidelined will pay dividends when he returns to action, and that has already helped in the short term.\n\n”It’s been good to be in the dugout, just playing,” the guy from Quito said. “From the dugout.” “Because there are situations where I would like to learn right away, and I could go to a coach or somebody, and those guys could explain to me how to play or what’s going on.” It’s not outside the realm of possibility Cruz said, however. , could play baseball again this calendar year. Winter ball is an option. Cruz is very familiar with the Dominican Republic’s winter league, having played four seasons. Events begin in October and continue through the end of January for teams that advance to the Postseason.\n\n“I would love to do that,” Cruz said of winter ball. “You always feel good when you play for your country or something like that, but my priority right now is for you to feel better, and that’s a decision that’s still a long way off.” \n\nWhether he has the opportunity to play for his country or not, Cruz is confident that your best version will be seen in spring training if you keep working now.”,”type”:text”},{“__typename”: “Video”,” contentDate”: “2022-08-24T18 :29:48.314Z “”,preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”)”:https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com /FORGE/2022/2022-08/24 /15b23fd0-c39a1031- 533838d3-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”: “video”,”description”:”Statcast measures O’Neal Cruz’s 97.8 mph throw and velocity The 122.4 mph exit, the hardest pitch and hit ball in Statcast’s record”, “displayAsVideoGif”:false, “duration”: “00:01:15”, “slug”: “oneil-cruz-makes-statcast- history”, “tags”:[{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-134″,”title”:”Pittsburgh Pirates”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:134″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-665833″,”title”:”Oneil Cruz”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:665833″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”player-tracking”,”title”:”Statcast”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/som278be8sy7yd0e1yol”},”title” : “Oneil Cruz Makes Statcast History”, “relativeSiteUrl”: “/video/oneil-cruz-makes-statcast-history”},{“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “And for the player who destroyed statcast history in 98 Just one game in the major leagues, and Cruz’s expectations are higher than ever.\n\n“I’m going to raise the bar high and do things I can’t even imagine right now,” he said.\n\nWhat level are we talking about? A 40-40 season?\n \nCruz smiled at the question and said nonchalantly: “Yes, sir!” The regular season is in its final weeks, and Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Tuesday that O’Neal Cruz will not return for the season. 2023 campaign. But the young Dominican is also sure that he will be the best again in 2024. Cruz suffered”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:”Jake Cross He is a reporter for the MLB website .com”, “tags”:[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”jake-crouse”,”title”:”Jake Crouse”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-665833″,”title”:”Oneil Cruz”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:665833″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”GameTag”,”slug”:”gamepk-716620″,”title”:”2023/09/12 was@pit”,”type”:”game”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”injury”,”title”:”injury”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-134″,”title”:”Pittsburgh Pirates”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:134″},”type”:”team”}]”type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/a5fwiqxmpujrrysfekqg”, “title”: “O’Neal Cruz Won’t Return With the Pirates in 2023″}},”Person:665833”:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:665833},”Team:134″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id” :134 }}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”:”:mlbglobal08,mlbcom08,mlbcomes”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”: “Major League Baseball”, “lang”: “es”} window.appId = ‘ ‘ /*–>*/
September 12, 2023
PITTSBURGH — As the regular season reaches its final weeks, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Tuesday that O’Neal Cruz will not return for the 2023 season. But the young Dominican is confident as ever that he will be the best again in 2024.
Cruz suffered a fractured left ankle when he slid awkwardly in a collision at home plate with White Sox outfielder Sepe Zavala on April 9. The Buccaneers expected to return to action within four months shortly after the injury, and Cruz appeared to be on his way when he took up running in early August, one of the last steps before he could perform routines and swing at drills.
However, Sports Medicine Director Todd Tomczyk said on Aug. 23 that Cruz’s rehabilitation was “stalled” due to pain in his left foot. However, Cruz at the time expressed optimism about his ability to return, saying setbacks such as pain were common with his type of injury.
Even though Cruz won’t play again this season for the Buccaneers, he’s not letting the news dampen his spirits.
“Mentally, I was in a good place the whole time,” Cruz said. “I’m always a positive guy. Physically, we’ve had some setbacks, but we’ll overcome them and now I feel much better.”
There is no doubt that Cruz’s early exit from the lineup affected the team this year. His combination of raw power, arm, speed and better strike zone recognition points to a breakout season. FanGraphs ZiPS Projections for the 2023 Season Cruz is tied with Ke’Bryan Hayes as the Pirates’ second-highest producer in terms of fWAR (2.7), behind Bryan Reynolds (3.5).
“When you lose a guy in the middle of your diamond, it’s a big blow to our team, and it’s completely changed the look of our lineup,” Shelton said.
“I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to lose,” Cruz said, “and when I go home now, I start thinking: How can I help my team in this situation?” But I think we will be much better next year. “We’re thinking about the playoffs and all that stuff next year, when I come back.”
Despite an injury that kept him off the field, Cruz has been a pillar and dugout for the Buccaneers club this season. Shelton is hoping the fact that Cruz has focused on the games even while he’s been sidelined will pay dividends when he returns to action, and that has already helped in the short term.
“It was good to be in the dugout, just watching the game from the dugout,” admitted the man from the Dominican Republic. “Because there are situations where I want to learn right away, and I can go to a coach or someone, and these guys can explain to me how to play or what’s happening to me.”
However, it is not outside the realm of possibility that Cruz could play baseball again this calendar year. Winter ball is an option. Cruz is very familiar with Ledum, the Dominican Republic’s winter league, having played four seasons. The action begins in October and continues through the end of January for teams that advance to the postseason.
“I want that,” Cruz said of winter ball. “You always feel good when you play for your country or something, but my priority now is to feel better, which is a long shot.”
Whether he gets the opportunity to play for his country or not, Cruz is confident he will be at his best in spring training if he keeps working now.
And for a player who broke Statcast records in just 98 major league games, Cruz’s expectations are higher than ever.
“I’m going to set the bar very high and do things that I can’t even imagine right now,” he said.
How high are we talking about? 40-40 season?
Cruz smiled at the question and said nonchalantly: “Yes, sir!”
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