Oneil Cruz Injury Is A Massive Blow To The Pirates’ Playoff Push

The Pirates pulled off one of their best wins of the season, overcoming Shohei Ohtani and a 6-1 deficit against the Dodgers behind Tyler Callihan’s first two Major League home runs.

But the bigger story is Oneil Cruz.

Alex Stumpf breaks down Cruz landing on the injured list with a fracture, why the reported 4-6 week timeline may not be as simple as it sounds, and how big of a loss this is for a Pirates offense that has relied heavily on his power, speed and on-base ability.

With Cruz out, the Pirates now have real questions in center field. Can Jake Mangum hold it down? Does Jhostynxon Garcia get another shot? Could Esmerlyn Valdez force his way back up with the bat? And how much more can the Pirates realistically ask from Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz?

This episode of OffBeat looks at why there is no easy replacement for Oneil Cruz and why the Pirates’ postseason push just got much tougher.

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