The Pittsburgh Pirates had one shortstop undergo surgery while another who is recovering from surgery started a running program that should serve as an important step toward his return.
Where Tucupita Marcano underwent ACL reconstructive surgery Wednesday that will keep him out until next year, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk expressed optimism there is a chance Oneil Cruz could be ready to play for the Pirates by season’s end. Tomczyk said initiating a high-speed running program around the bases is generally the last step before beginning a rehabilitation assignment.
“The word continues to be ‘progress,’ ” Tomczyk said of Cruz. “He’s making progress hitting. He’s making progress fielding. And he initiated a running program earlier this week. So, all in all, things continue to go well for Oneil.”
The Pirates initially projected the 6-foot-7, 220-pound Cruz, who had surgery after fracturing his left ankle on an awkward slide into home plate against the Chicago White Sox on April 9, to return to baseball activities within four months. Tomczyk said that timeline has changed but said “we still believe there is” a chance Cruz could play for the Pirates this year.
“There was just a collaborative read on the medical performance team that to potentially avoid any further soft tissue injuries up or down the kinetic chain — although you can’t go much further down — that we decided to take it a little bit slower,” Tomczyk said. “So, nothing happened that his body signaled he can’t handle; it was more of a collaborative effort that we all got together, notably with Oneil, like, ‘Hey, look, here’s where we’re going to need to take this a little bit, a step differently and not rush to that projection date because we want to make sure when you come back, you’re back and you feel, as a baseline, like yourself.’
“Look, the most important thing, I know we all want to see him back. Trust me, I do, too, but he is making progress. Although some can say it is slower than we originally projected, sure, that’s fair, but it wasn’t because of anything that happened that was unexpected or that he was pushing back against or we didn’t forecast in a way. But it is fair to say that the projection was around this time, and we’re not there. He’s not there. But that doesn’t suggest that he’s not in a good spot and progressing.”
