Oneil Cruz injured his hand over the weekend on a hard slide in Atlanta. Eakin Howard / Imagn ImagesJune 10, 2026 5:57 pm EDT Updated In the midst of a tough stretch that has seen their record fall to one game over .500, the Pittsburgh Pirates learned on Wednesday that they will be without center fielder Oneil Cruz, as he deals with non-displaced fractures in the fourth and fifth metacarpals of his left hand. Cruz has been sidelined since Sunday, when he made a pinch-running appearance in the ninth inning of the Pirates’ 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves.The injured list stint is retroactive to Monday, but according to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Cruz is expected to miss at least a month. Outfielder Billy Cook was recalled from Triple A to take Cruz’s place on the roster.Cruz, 27, appeared to have injured the hand on Saturday when he made a hard slide. The Pirates originally said he was day-to-day, and he wasn’t in the lineup on Tuesday in their series opener with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Cruz is in the middle of his best offensive season. In 64 games, he’s batting .264/.350/.472 with 14 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He’s leading the league in strikeouts with 98 but is walking at a 10.6 percent clip and is hitting for more power than he has since his rookie season in 2022.The Pirates will undoubtedly miss Cruz’s bat, though they are better positioned to deal with his absence than they would have been the last few years. Pittsburgh currently ranks fourth in the National League team OPS (.732) and fifth in runs scored (336).Their vaunted starting rotation recently welcomed back Jared Jones after he completed his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and their starters are fourth in the NL with a 3.96 ERA. Their bullpen has been an issue, especially of late, however. On Tuesday, the Pirates dropped a 12-3 game to the Dodgers when L.A. scored 10 runs in the seventh inning after starter Paul Skenes had left the game. Pittsburgh’s relievers have combined for a 4.33 ERA, good for 12th in the NL.The Pirates’ current four-game losing streak has dropped them to third place in the NL Central, as the St. Louis Cardinals have won five straight. The Milwaukee Brewers have an eight-game lead over the Pirates and a 4.5-game lead over the Cardinals. Pittsburgh is a half-game out of the final NL wild-card spot, though there are three teams with 34-32 records in position for that third wild card.