Oneil Cruz is finally back and Don Kelly is already overthinking it

The Pittsburgh Pirates waited more than two months to get Oneil Cruz back into their lineup. Naturally, the first thing they did after activating him was leave him out of it.

Cruz was activated from the 60-day injured list Monday after missing more than two months with fractures in his left hand. He completed six minor league rehab games, his fractures have healed and Pittsburgh determined he was ready to return to the active roster.

Then manager Don Kelly decided not to start him against the Tigers, citing Detroit left-hander Framber Valdez as the primary reason.

That would make considerably more sense if Cruz had actually struggled against left-handed pitching, but he entered Monday hitting .312/.361/.506 against lefties this year. His overall numbers before the injury were similarly strong, as he hit .264 with an .822 OPS, 14 home runs and 21 stolen bases.

So what exactly are the Pirates protecting him from?

Don Kelly's explanation for keeping Oneil Cruz out of Monday's Pirates lineup vs Tigers makes no sense

There is an entirely reasonable argument for easing Cruz back into action after such a lengthy absence. His rehab assignment wasn't especially productive — he went just 3-for-22 with seven strikeouts — and Pittsburgh has acknowledged that even though the fractures are healed, Cruz has dealt with residual discomfort at contact.

If Kelly had simply said the Pirates wanted to manage Cruz's workload immediately after his activation, fine. After two months away, nobody should have a problem with that. But if the primary reason is really that Valdez throws with his left hand, the Pirates are overthinking this before Cruz has even taken an at-bat.

This isn't a hitter who needs to be hidden from same-side pitching. Cruz's strikeout issues are well documented, but his enormous raw power, ability to draw walks and impact on the bases make him one of the few players in this lineup capable of changing a game instantly. His results against lefties this season only make the decision harder to justify.

And the Pirates aren't exactly overflowing with offense to the point where they can get cute with their lineup. Ryan O'Hearn, Konnor Griffin and Endy Rodríguez remain on the injured list. Pittsburgh entered Cruz's return at 61-65 and 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. Whatever faint playoff hopes remain require the Pirates to put their best available players on the field and hope for a late surge.

Jake Mangum has done an admirable job filling in for Cruz, hitting .300 with a .351 on-base percentage, and the Pirates should absolutely continue finding at-bats for him. But Cruz's return was supposed to make Pittsburgh's lineup more dangerous, not create another opportunity to obsess over matchups that the numbers don't even support.

The Pirates spent months waiting for Cruz to get healthy enough to play. Now that he is, they should probably try playing him.

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