Yomiuri Giants infielder Luis Cruz, who was deactivated prior to the start of the Central League Climax Series First Stage, practiced with the top team at Tokyo Dome on Monday ahead of the decisive third game against the Yokohama BayStars.
“I feel good,” Cruz said. “I’m ready for whenever they need me.”
The Giants removed Cruz, in his third year in Japan and first with Yomiuri, from the roster on Oct. 3, for unspecified reasons.
Cruz has been working out with the minor league team while away from the ichi-gun squad.
He went through the normal motions during practice before Monday’s game.
“I want to be ready to do what I do,” Cruz said. “I’m excited to be here. Hopefully we win today and I will be able to __play in Hiroshima. But it’s not my call. The only thing I can do is be ready for anytime they call me.”
Cruz said he’d kept in regular contact with his teammates while away. He also said he’d spoken with Giants manager Yoshinobu Takahashi, but declined to go into the specifics of that conversation.
“We talked and I’m back here,” Cruz said. “That’s the important thing.”
Cruz, who missed two months with an ankle injury, hit .252 with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs in 81 games during the regular season. He was also a steady presence at second base. He’s one of two notable players missing from the Yomiuri roster, with ace Tomoyuki Sugano sidelined by an illness.
The Giants fell to the BayStars 5-3 in Game 1 of the first stage before rebounding with a 2-1 win in Game 2.
Cruz, who would be eligible to __play should the Giants advance to the next stage, said it was hard not being on the field for those contests.
“It was a little stressful watching those games,” Cruz said. “It’s tough. They’ve been good games. Sometimes you think, ‘I want to be there,’ but it is what it is. I was working hard, and now I’m here. Hopefully today we win and I can go to Hiroshima and contribute to the team and do my best.”
No comments:
Post a Comment