Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) remains out of the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Cruz was hit by a pitch on his finger on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and will sit out for the second straight day as a result. It's not considered a very serious injury, though, so fantasy managers should hopefully get Cruz back at some point over the weekend in Cincinnati. With Cruz out, Jack Suwinski is making another start in center field and will hit sixth against Reds right-hander Brady Singer. Suwinski will be a poor DFS play on Friday night. He's gone 3-for-25 in the early going and has never faced Singer in his career. Cruz has started the year hitting only .211 (8-for-38), but he does have two long balls, five RBI, five runs scored and a league-leading seven stolen bases.

The Boston Red Sox have signed catcher Yasmani Grandal to a minor-league contract on Thursday. Grandal spent the 2024 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates and will now look to continue his professional career in Boston. Last season, Grandal posted a .228/.304/.400 slash line with 10 doubles and nine home runs across 72 contests. He held a 24:46 BB:K. He also generated a modest .325 xwOBA with a .419 xSLG. Grandal was able to find a spot in Boston as they placed their top backstop, Connor Wong (finger), on the injured list. Fantasy managers should expect Grandal to begin his time in the minor leagues, but he could push for a quick promotion to the majors if Boston continues to lack offensive production behind the dish. Grandal is worth monitoring in two-catcher formats as he was a viable option in deeper leagues last season.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Thomas Harrington was optioned to Triple-A on Thursday. The Pirates promoted Harrington on April 1 but were only able to appear in two games during his first brief taste of the major leagues. He was given the starting nod in his first outing on April 1 and allowed seven hits and six earned runs across four innings to the Tampa Bay Rays. In his other appearance, Harrington was deployed out of the bullpen and tossed four innings of three-run ball en route to earning a save. In this game, he held a 1:5 BB:K and allowed four hits. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his production at Triple-A as he should be in the mix to return to the big leagues later in the season, when the Pirates need additional pitching depth. Last season at Triple-A, Harrington posted a 3.33 ERA with a 0.93 WHIP across 46 innings of work.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller turned in a quality start in a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in 13 innings on Wednesday. Keller threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing four hits, walking one, and striking out six but had to settle for a no-decision in the extra-inning game. The veteran hurler has now made three starts for the Pirates this season, posting a 1-1 record, 4.24 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 14 strikeouts spanning 17 innings of work. Keller is not a must-start in fantasy, but he is worth a look as a potential streaming option in favorable matchups moving forward.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) was absent from Wednesday's lineup due to finger soreness, according to manager Derek Shelton. Cruz suffered the injury on Tuesday when he was hit by a pitch, but it doesn't seem to be serious. He was available to pinch run or play defense in Wednesday's game if necessary. He'll look to hopefully rejoin the lineup on Thursday and continue his solid start to the season. He's only batting .211, but has a .360 OBP and has already stolen seven bases.