The Pirates welcomed back a big part of their offense on Monday, as they activated Oneil Cruz from the 60-day injured list.
To make room on the active roster, they optioned Ronny Simon to Triple-A. They'll still need to make a move to create a spot on the 40-man roster.
Cruz had been on the IL since June 8, though it was retroactive to June 10. He suffered non-displaced fractures in the fourth and fifth metacarpal in his left hand, and the Pirates went 27-32 during the time that Cruz missed.
In 64 games this season, Cruz has hit .264 with an .822 OPS that includes 10 doubles and 14 home runs. He has 44 RBIs, 45 runs scored and 21 stolen bases on 25 attempts.
Cruz was not in the starting lineup Monday, although that's only expected to be a one-day thing.
"There are a lot of ways that Oneil can help us win," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. "We all know he's got the power, the arm strength in the outfield, the speed on the bases. Just excited to have him back to help us win."
Cruz had been rehabbing at Double-A Altoona and also spent two games with Indianapolis. In a half-dozen Minor League games, Cruz hit .136 (3 for 22) with seven strikeouts.
Cruz last played in an MLB game June 7 against the Braves at Truist Park, though that was when he entered as a pinch runner. His last start came the day before, when he was injured sliding into home plate in the fourth inning.
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk explained that Cruz may still experience some residual soreness. It's not a setback but more Cruz's body reacting to trauma. He dealt with similar stuff a few years back when he had ankle surgery.
"Unfortunately this took a little longer than we initially thought," Tomczyk said. "Not any fault of Oneil’s. He wants to be back out there. We don’t expect him to be pain-free for the rest of the season. He may have some residual swelling from time-to-time, but that’s not uncommon. But we got confidence from the physicians that he’s not going to do any further damage by playing through this."
Tomczyk added that Cruz's batted-ball metrics in the Minor Leagues were very good, and there's little to no concern that any of this will affect his performance on the field.
Cruz ranks in the 100th percentile in average exit velocity (96.0 mph) and hard-hit percentage (59.2%). He's in the 97th when it comes to barrel rate (16.7%).
In the field, Cruz also ranks in the 100th percentage for arm strength (97.8 mph) and averages 28.4 feet per second when it comes to sprint speed, putting him in the 80th percentile of that stat.
"He seems to be in a really good spot," Kelly said. "Hit some balls pretty hard on the rehab assignment and is in a good spot. Just something that we're gonna have to be communicating on and be mindful of as we go forward."
Also, Yohan Ramirez returned from the paternity list. To clear a spot for Ramirez, Hunter Barco was optioned to the Minor Leagues.
Barco pitched well during Sunday’s 8-3 victory over the Red Sox at PNC Park, covering three innings and striking out four while pretty much making one bad pitch: a 2-0 fastball middle-middle to Connor Wong that got hit out.
Ramirez will be an important addition to the bullpen, as he’s produced a 0.28 ERA in his last 22 games, also striking out 40 over 32 2/3 innings during that time.
The last time Ramirez pitched, he delivered three scoreless innings on Tuesday at Miami.
Injury updates
The Pirates got more good news Monday as it pertains to Konnor Griffin. He had followup appointments with team physicians, including a hand specialist and head orthopedic surgeon, and was cleared for more baseball activities, per Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk.
It's possible, if not like, Griffin will return inside of three weeks.
"Konnor’s a little bit ahead of schedule," Tomczyk said. "He’s been cleared to transition out of the splints that you’ve seen him in. You will still see his hand taped. That’s part of his transition phase.
"Over the next 48-72 hours, you’ll see him putting his hand in the glove. You’ll see him gripping the bat fully. You’ll also see him doing all the other baseball stuff that he was cleared to do from the get go, for when we reached this point, once the injured hand is healed — and it is — hopefully it will be a smoother and quicker transition back to full baseball activities."
Griffin will go to Florida when the Pirates leave for Los Angeles to continue his rehab. As of now, Tomczyk said he's on schedule to return when he's eligible to come off the injured list, which is Sept. 4.
Initially, the goal in Florida will be to catch baseballs soon and begin a swinging progression at the end of the week.
"All in all, very, very good news on Konnor," Tomczyk said.
Ryan O'Hearn will join Griffin in Florida. He's playing catch and took some swings in the cage. Tomczyk said O'Hearn (left quad muscle strain) remains on track to return in five weeks, although O'Hearn will almost assuredly want to beat that timeline.
Termarr Johnson will have surgery on his left knee on Thursday, and it will be performed by Dr. Dan Cooper. The pre-op surgery is a left knee ACL reconstruction, Tomczyk said, plus an LCL procedure. Tomczyk called the knee injury "pretty traumatic."
"We’ll have a much more definitive time frame of return after the surgery is complete," Tomczyk said.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.