Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz had surgery and will miss up to four months after suffering a fracture to his lower left leg and ligament damage to his ankle in a collision at home plate, the team said Monday.
The Pirates said Cruz, 24, had procedures to stabilize the fractured fibula and address the ankle injury on Sunday night at Allegheny General Hospital. He was placed on the injured list Monday.
Cruz was attempting to score from third on a chopper by Ke’Bryan Hayes when Cruz’s leg bent awkwardly beneath him while he attempted a late slide. Cruz’s leg appeared to collide with the legs of Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, who easily tagged out Cruz.
The 6-foot-7 Cruz writhed in pain and the benches and bullpens briefly cleared after Pittsburgh designated hitter Carlos Santana appeared to take exception to the behavior of Zavala, who told Santana that he didn’t like how late Cruz had decided to slide.
Cruz had walked leading off the inning to extend his on-base streak to 19 games, the third-longest active streak in the majors. He is hitting .250 with a home run and four RBIs this season.
“Obviously losing Oneil is a blow because he’s a big part of what we do on both sides of the ball,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said Sunday. Rodolfo Castro moved from second base to shortstop after Cruz exited, with Ji Hwan Bae replacing Castro at second.
In a related move, the Pirates added infielder Mark Mathias to the active roster. Pittsburgh continues a six-game homestand on Monday against the Houston Astros.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
