May 11, 2025 4:14 PM : Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said prior to Sunday's game against Atlanta that Cruz is considered day-to-day due to lower back tightness, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "We don't have a full update yet, because he was going to go through some stuff and see how he felt," Cherington said of Cruz. "He felt a little tightness in that low back as he pulled up on the bases, as people saw [in Saturday's 3-2 loss]."
Analysis: Cruz appeared to tweak his back after reaching base during his final plate appearance in the ninth inning, but he played an inning in the field before he was lifted from Saturday's game in the top of the 11th inning. The Pirates don't seem overly concerned about Cruz's back issue forcing him to the injured list, as the team didn't call up an extra infielder from the minors ahead of Sunday's game. With a quick turnaround for Sunday's contest and a tough lefty (Chris Sale) on the mound for Atlanta, the Pirates may have viewed the series finale as an opportune time to give the lefty-hitting Cruz his first day off since April 20.