The Pittsburgh Pirates activated O'Neil Cruz from the 10-day injured list on Monday, ending his absence after the June 7 injury. Ronny Simon was sent to Triple-A in the corresponding move, but Cruz did not play.
The return matters because it puts Cruz back into the Pirates' outfield mix and opens the door for a four-man rotation at DH with Bryan Reynolds, Jake Mangum, Esmerlyn Valdez and Cruz. For now, the move changes the roster on paper more than it changes the field, since Cruz was active for the first time since June 7 but still stayed out of the lineup.
That gives the Pirates a simple problem to solve: how quickly to use Cruz after a long break, and how to divide the DH spot without cutting into the rest of the outfield rotation. Monday answered the roster question, not the usage question, and the next step will show whether Cruz is back to playing regularly or simply back on the active list for now.
