Pirates place CF Oneil Cruz on 7-day IL, lose C/1B Endy Rodriguez to season-ending surgery

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be without Oneil Cruz for at least a week but lost Endy Rodriguez for the remainder of the season.

The Pirates placed Cruz on the seven-day concussion injured list Wednesday after the center fielder left Tuesday’s game to be evaluated for a head injury following a collision. In an attempt to make a diving catch on a Joey Ortiz fly ball, Cruz’s head hit into the knee of sliding left fielder Jack Suwinski in the fourth inning of a 14-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Pirates also confirmed that Rodriguez, a 25-year-old catcher/first baseman, underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his right elbow Tuesday by Drs. Neil ElAttrache and Steve Shinn at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. No damage was discovered to Rodriguez’s surgically repaired UCL, which caused him to miss the 2024 season. The switch-hitting Rodriguez batted .173 with a .496 OPS, four doubles and two RBIs in 18 games this season, starting nine games at first base and eight at catcher.

Cruz is batting .207 with a team-best 18 home runs and has 51 RBIs along with a National League-leading 34 steals through 108 games this season. To replace Cruz on the active roster, the Pirates recalled outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis.

The 25-year-old Simon, who was claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins on June 2, batted .291/.386/.447 with nine doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 30 RBIs in 52 games for the Indians.

The 5-foot-8, 150-pound Dominican also had 24 stolen bases, which were tied for the most among all Triple-A players since June 6. Since July 26, Simon has batted .344 (22 for 64) with four extra-base hits, eight walks and nine RBIs in 15 games. He started 33 games in left field, 11 as designated hitter and seven in right field for Indianapolis.