PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was the step missing from the Oneil Cruz return, they couldn’t start thinking about him returning until he started running. Cruz initiated a running program earlier this week.
Now it’s about progressing into high-speed running, circling bases and when that is all comes together and he’s able to accomplish those check points. They will send him to the minors for a rehab assignment.
Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk firmly believes he will play again this season. As for why it’s not at the August 9th date, the early four-month projection for when he could return from his broken ankle?
“That’s a very fair question,” Tomczyk told reporters at PNC Park. “There was a collaborative read by the medical performance team to potentially avoid any further soft tissue injury up or down the kinetic chain, although you can’t go much further down, we decided to take it a little bit slower.”
They wanted to make sure they didn’t rush him and Tomczyk stressed it wasn’t because of any setback. While they didn’t say this, know they didn’t want to rush a player of his importance to the organization.
Max Kranick, who had Tommy John surgery last June, will begin a rehab assignment next week, likely with the Class A Bradenton Marauders. In 70 career minor-league games (65 starts), the 26-year-old right-hander is 17-19 with a 3.50 ERA with 262 strikeouts to 78 walks and a 1.16 WHIP in 323.2 innings.