Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Cruz (hand) is facing an estimated recovery timeline of 4-to-6 weeks, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Pittsburgh moved Cruz to the 10-day injured list Wednesday after he was diagnosed with non-displaced fourth and fifth metacarpal fractures in his left hand, with the injury stemming from a hard slide in Atlanta last weekend. While Cruz appears likely to avoid surgery on his hand, he'll still need to wait for the fractured bones to heal before he resumes baseball activities. Given the timeline laid out by Cherington, it wouldn't be surprising if the Pirates opted to hold Cruz out through the All-Star break in mid-July with the hope that the 27-year-old outfielder is ready to go for the start of their second-half schedule.