Oneil Cruz, Bligh Madris coming to Pirates

The rumor has finally become fact—Oneil Cruz is coming back to the Show.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed Cruz’s promotion in his postgame press conference this afternoon, but in a bit of a surprise added that outfielder Bligh Madris will be making his MLB debut with the Bucs as well.

It should be noted that Cruz is on the Pirates- 40-man roster, while Madris is not. Cruz’s return was being predicted all last week, particularly since tomorrow all MLB teams must go down to 13 pitchers on their active rosters of 26. As of this writing, there’s no word on who will be sent down to get Madris on the 40-man, although the ever-present rumors have the descenders to be Liover Peguero and most likely Yerry De Los Santos.

Cruz’s numbers have been well-documented, but Madris has been having a great season in Indy, with a .304/.385/.904 slash line, five homers, and 20 RBI. Add in that he bats left, and he’ll be a welcome addition to the Pirates’ batting order.

This is a developing story, so stay tuned.