Steven Cruz Bio
Steven Adalberto Cruz (born June 15, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a member of the Kansas City Royals organization in Major League Baseball (MLB). A right-handed reliever who has spent much of his career in the minor leagues, Cruz worked his way through the Minnesota Twins system before being traded to Kansas City in 2023. He made his major league debut that same year and has continued to develop as a late-inning option for the Royals.
Cruz began his professional journey in 2017 as a teenager in the Dominican Summer League and steadily climbed the minor league ladder through each affiliate level. After several years of progression in the Twins system, he was dealt to the Royals in a trade that brought Michael A. Taylor to Minnesota. He has since appeared in the major leagues across multiple seasons.
Early Life and Background
Steven Adalberto Cruz was born on June 15, 1999, in the Dominican Republic, a country with a long and celebrated tradition of producing Major League Baseball talent. Like many prospects from the Dominican Republic, Cruz grew up surrounded by baseball culture and was identified at a young age as a promising pitching prospect. He comes from a Dominican background, though specific details about his family and upbringing are not widely documented in public sources.
Cruz signed his first professional contract as a teenager, which is a common path for Dominican players entering the MLB system. His early training and development took place within the Minnesota Twins’ Dominican academy pipeline, where international signees are typically introduced to professional instruction, strength programs, and game strategy. The Dominican academy system has long served as a foundational step for future big leaguers from the country.
Path to Professional Baseball
On March 20, 2017, Cruz signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins organization, officially beginning his professional career at the age of seventeen. He made his professional debut that summer with the Dominican Summer League Twins, where he posted a 3.68 ERA across 16 games and showed enough promise to advance within the system.
The following year, Cruz moved to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins, where he recorded a 3.12 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched across 13 appearances. In 2019, he spent a third consecutive year in the rookie league, this time with the Elizabethton Twins, logging a 2.90 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 17 games. These steady improvements in ERA and strikeout numbers marked him as a pitcher to watch in the Twins’ system.
The 2020 minor league season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept Cruz off the mound for the entire year. He returned to action in 2021, pitching for both the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle and the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. Across 28 combined contests that season, he produced a 4-2 record and a 4.32 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 50 innings of work, demonstrating durability and continued development.
Steven Cruz Career
Early Career (2017–2019)
Cruz’s earliest professional seasons were spent in the Twins’ Dominican and rookie-level affiliates, where he built the foundation of his career. In the Dominican Summer League in 2017, he showed immediate promise with a 3.68 ERA in 16 appearances, giving the Twins confidence to move him stateside the following year.
His time with the Gulf Coast League Twins in 2018 and the Elizabethton Twins in 2019 produced consistent results, with ERAs under 3.20 each season and a strong strikeout rate. Cruz did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which paused his development for a full year before he returned to the mound in 2021.
Minnesota Twins Development (2021–2022)
After the lost 2020 season, Cruz returned to competitive play in 2021 across two levels, Single-A Fort Myers and High-A Cedar Rapids. In 28 combined games, he posted a 4-2 record with a 4.32 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 50 innings, showing he could handle a heavier workload as he moved up the minor league ladder.
In 2022, Cruz spent the entire season with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge, working exclusively out of the bullpen. Across 48 relief appearances, he registered a 5.14 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 56 innings. His high strikeout totals at Double-A demonstrated the swing-and-miss ability that would eventually catch the attention of the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City Royals and MLB Debut (2023–Present)
On January 24, 2023, the Minnesota Twins traded Cruz and Evan Sisk to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Cruz split the 2023 season between the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals and the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, where he produced a combined 3.81 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 9 saves in 49 and two-thirds innings across 43 appearances.
On August 29, 2023, Cruz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 10 appearances during his rookie campaign with Kansas City, he posted a 4.97 ERA with 15 strikeouts across 12 and two-thirds innings, establishing himself as a relief option at the highest level.
Cruz was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to begin the 2024 season and made five scoreless appearances for Kansas City on the year, striking out four batters across 5 and two-thirds innings pitched. He was again optioned to Triple-A Omaha to begin the 2025 season, but returned to the Royals shortly after. On May 9, 2025, Cruz recorded his first career MLB win after pitching the final two-thirds of an extra-inning victory over the Boston Red Sox, a milestone moment in his young major league career.
Driving Style and Strengths
Cruz has built his professional profile as a strikeout-oriented reliever, consistently posting strong punch-out numbers at every level of the minor leagues. His Double-A season in 2022 produced 72 strikeouts in 56 innings, while his 2023 minor league work added 64 more strikeouts in just under 50 innings. His ability to miss bats, combined with a growing role in high-leverage relief situations, has defined his value to the Royals organization.
Notable Events and Milestones
Cruz’s most significant career milestones include his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals on August 29, 2023, and his first career MLB win on May 9, 2025, when he closed out an extra-inning victory against the Boston Red Sox. He was also part of the January 2023 trade that sent Michael A. Taylor to the Minnesota Twins, marking the deal that brought him to the Royals organization.
Steven Cruz Career Wins
Steven Cruz has accumulated a small but growing list of victories across his professional career, with most of his wins coming during his time in the minor leagues with affiliates of the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals organizations.
Minor League Highlights
During the 2021 season, Cruz posted a 4-2 record across 28 combined appearances for the Fort Myers Miracle and Cedar Rapids Kernels, marking his first extended run of winning decisions at the full-season minor league level. He has continued to add saves and holds at the upper levels of the minors, including 9 saves during the 2023 season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha.
Major League Wins
Cruz recorded his first career MLB win on May 9, 2025, against the Boston Red Sox, working the final two-thirds of an inning in an extra-inning victory for the Royals. The milestone came after he had appeared in 10 games for Kansas City in 2023 and five scoreless appearances in 2024 without recording a decision.
Steven Cruz Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Steven Adalberto Cruz comes from the Dominican Republic, a country that has produced generations of Major League Baseball players. Specific details about his parents and immediate family are not widely documented in public sources.
Personal Life
Cruz maintains an active presence on social media, where fans can follow his baseball career. Beyond his work on the mound, little additional public information is available regarding his personal life or relationships.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season has marked an important step forward in Steven Cruz’s major league career. He began the year at Triple-A Omaha before being recalled to the Kansas City Royals, where he worked his way back into the major league bullpen mix. His most notable moment came on May 9, 2025, when he earned his first career MLB win by retiring the final outs of an extra-inning victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Cruz’s role with the Royals has continued to center on relief appearances, with the organization using him as a depth option in the bullpen. His ability to miss bats and handle late-inning situations has kept him in consideration for high-leverage work as the season progresses.
As the 2025 season unfolds, Cruz remains a developing reliever with room to grow into a more consistent role for Kansas City. His mix of strikeout ability and minor league success positions him as a potential long-term piece of the Royals’ bullpen plans, with further opportunities likely as he continues to log major league innings.