2025 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
1.42
WHIP
0.79
K
28
SV
2
Rest-of-Season Projections
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Cruz was one of Cincinnati's highest leverage relievers over the past two seasons, accumulating a 4.88 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 207:63 K:BB over 132.2 innings with the Reds. However, a trade to the Yankees likely bumps him down to a lower leverage middle relief role for 2025. The 34-year-old righty continues to rack up a ton of strikeouts (109 in 2024) with one of the filthiest splitters (.116 BAA, .149 SLG, 59.3 percent whiff) in the league, but his secondary offerings get crushed and his 11.4 percent career walk rate cannot be ignored. Read Past Outlooks
Notches second save
Cruz earned a save against Tampa Bay on Sunday, issuing three walks and striking out one batter over 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings.
ANALYSIS
Max Fried gave New York 7.2 splendid scoreless frames, and Cruz was called upon in the bottom of the eighth to get the final out after the Rays put a runner on base. Cruz walked the first batter he faced but escaped further danger by getting Junior Caminero to pop out. The Yankees plated a run in the top of the ninth to eliminate a save opportunity for closer Devin Williams, and Cruz ended up finishing off the victory successfully despite issuing two more free passes. It's been a great start to the season for the 35-year-old reliever, as he's posted a 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 19:6 K:BB over 12 innings while working as one of New York's top high-leverage relievers. Cruz has two saves over his past four appearances, but he's unlikely to see consistent save chances due to Williams still being the team's primary closer despite some early season struggles and Luke Weaver the top candidate for most save chances when Williams is unavailable.
Max Fried gave New York 7.2 splendid scoreless frames, and Cruz was called upon in the bottom of the eighth to get the final out after the Rays put a runner on base. Cruz walked the first batter he faced but escaped further danger by getting Junior Caminero to pop out. The Yankees plated a run in the top of the ninth to eliminate a save opportunity for closer Devin Williams, and Cruz ended up finishing off the victory successfully despite issuing two more free passes. It's been a great start to the season for the 35-year-old reliever, as he's posted a 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 19:6 K:BB over 12 innings while working as one of New York's top high-leverage relievers. Cruz has two saves over his past four appearances, but he's unlikely to see consistent save chances due to Williams still being the team's primary closer despite some early season struggles and Luke Weaver the top candidate for most save chances when Williams is unavailable.
Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
18
Last 5 Games
16
How many pitches does Fernando Cruz generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Fernando Cruz generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-20%
BAA vs RHP
2025
-31%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023vs Left | .232 | 96 | 38 | 56 | 9 | |||
| Since 2023vs Right | .185 | 139 | 31 | 59 | 7 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .111 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .162 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .264 | 41 | 18 | 28 | 6 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .181 | 68 | 17 | 26 | 3 | |||
| 2023vs Left | .231 | 43 | 18 | 25 | 3 | |||
| 2023vs Right | .196 | 55 | 10 | 27 | 3 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-13%
ERA on Road
2025
-100%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023Home | 4.74 | 1.23 | 79.2 | 15.3 | 4.3 | ||||
| Since 2023Away | 4.13 | 1.19 | 72.0 | 12.5 | 3.9 | ||||
| 2025Home | 0.00 | 0.79 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 2.4 | ||||
| 2025Away | 3.52 | 0.78 | 7.2 | 16.4 | 3.5 | ||||
| 2024Home | 5.45 | 1.32 | 36.1 | 16.6 | 4.5 | ||||
| 2024Away | 4.15 | 1.35 | 30.1 | 12.5 | 5.0 | ||||
| 2023Home | 5.63 | 1.28 | 32.0 | 15.2 | 4.8 | ||||
| 2023Away | 4.24 | 1.15 | 34.0 | 11.6 | 2.9 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Fernando Cruz compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
4.67K/9
13.3BB/9
2.8HR/9
0.5Fastball
93.4 mphERA
1.42WHIP
0.79BABIP
.238GB/FB
0.87Left On Base
73.5%Exit Velocity
79.7 mphBarrels/BBE
1.5%Spin Rate
1397 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
23.9%Swinging Strike
19.3%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2024 Fantasy Outlook
Cruz, who was drafted by the Royals as an infielder in 2007, transitioned to a full-time pitching role in 2011. He'd spend the next decade bouncing around between the minors, independent ranks and foreign leagues before getting his first big league promotion during the 2022 season at age 32. He broke camp with the Reds last season and threw one of the best splitters in baseball, with the 3rd-highest whiff percentage for that pitch type (56.7%) and 2nd-highest Statcast Run Value (11). Cruz finished 2 strikeouts shy of 100 across his 66 innings, and while his 4.91 ERA wasn't great, his 2.83 FIP suggests there is room for improvement in that category. His 2.07 ERA-minus-FIP was 2nd-highest among relief pitchers, while his 23.5% K-BB percentage ranked 16th. Those looking for strikeout upside in the late stages of drafts might consider clicking Cruz's name, but don't expect a ton of high leverage opportunities or save chances.
More Fantasy News
Records rare save vs. Royals
Cruz picked up the save in Wednesday's win over the Royals after allowing one hit and one walk in two innings. He struck out two.
ANALYSIS
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Showing off strikeout stuff
Through five outings this season, Cruz has a 10:1 K:BB over 5.2 innings while pitching to a 4.76 ERA and 0.71 WHIP and notching one hold.
ANALYSIS
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Moving to Bronx
The Reds traded Cruz and Alex Jackson to the Yankees on Friday in exchange for Jose Trevino, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Serving as opener Friday
Cruz is scheduled to serve as the Reds' opening pitcher for Friday's game against the Mets.
ANALYSIS
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Receives another opener assignment
Cruz will serve as the Reds' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Brewers, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
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