Cruz is back, and Pittsburgh needs every bit of it

Oneil Cruz was activated Monday and is set to play against the Tigers — his first game since June 7, when two hand fractures ended what had been a strong start to his season. He had 14 homers and 44 RBIs in 64 games before going down, which is the kind of production that leaves a real hole for two and a half months.

The timing matters. Griffin is on the 60-day IL, O'Hearn is banged up, and Nick Gonzales is day-to-day after taking a pitch to the helmet Friday. Pittsburgh is 59-66, seven back of the last wild card with 37 games left — not a comfortable spot, but not mathematically finished either. Cruz sliding back into center gives the lineup a jolt it genuinely needed.

The offense has actually been better lately — Pittsburgh has scored at a noticeably higher clip over the last ten games compared to the stretch before that. Whether Cruz accelerates that or just benefits from it, his return is the most straightforward good news this team has had in a while. Ronny Simon heads to Triple-A to make room.