Sitting six home runs shy of setting a new career-high in half the games, Oneil Cruz has been proving his value to the Pittsburgh Pirates ever since making his return from injury. 

Before his appearance on Tuesday, Cruz, 27, last played for the Pirates way back on June 7. He then spent an extended period on the 60-day injured list with a left hand fracture and some time on a rehab assignment in the minor leagues. 

Oneil Cruz's minor league struggles haven't mattered since making his MLB return

Cruz's handful of games between Indianapolis and Altoona made some fans debate if he lost his stoke all together. He struggled mightily, posting a pedestrian .177 batting average and one RBI in four games in Double-A and going hitless in two games with the Indians in Triple-A. 

However, what happened in the minors doesn't matter now. Because over the past two games back in the big leagues, Cruz has two hits, a home run and three RBI. 

His presence immediately helped lead the Pirates to a victory over the Detroit Tigers, driving in half of the Pirates' total scoring output in their 4-1 win to even the series.

While he's far from the perfect player, Cruz's play when healthy shows he was actually having his best season yet in 2026 and remains one of the team's stars it needs to keep building around into the future. 

Oneil Cruz was on pace to have his best season yet before getting injured 

In 65 games and 253 at-bats entering Wednesday's game, Cruz crushed 15 home runs. He hit 20 in 135 games last season, and his single-season best is 21 in 146 games in 2024. He also recorded 46 RBI, 46 runs scored and 10 doubles with a .265 average, above his career mark, a .350 OBP and a .482 slug, his by far highest for a season outside of the two games he played in 2021. 

Cruz even has 21 stolen bases, which would've placed him on track to exceed the 38 bags he swiped in 2025 when he led the entire National League with 38. 

Even though the Pirates' late-season collapse may be disappointing, any talk about Cruz not being part of the franchise's plans is misguided and not indicative of how he's actually played.