Juan Carlos Cruz (born October 15, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 2001 to 2012. Early life Cruz attended Janaco Bonao High School in Bonao. Career Chicago Cubs Cruz was signed for the Chicago Cubs by scout Jose Serra. He began his pro career with the Cubs' Rookie Level team, the Mesa Cubs, where he went 2–4 with a 6.10 earned run average and 36 strikeouts in only 41.1 innings pitched. Cruz went 5–6 with a 5.94 for Chicago's Single-A affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds, in . Cruz split the season between the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts and Daytona Cubs. His combined stats for the year included an 8–5 record, a 3.27 ERA and 160 K's in 25 games and 140.1 innings. He also threw three complete games. Cruz made his big league debut for the Cubs on August 21, , against the Milwaukee Brewers. He went 3–1 with a 3.22 ERA in his first 8 starts, and also recorded his first two major league hits on October 2. One of his highlights for the beginning of Cruz's season was that he was named to the All-Star Futures Team. Cruz went 3–11 with a 3.98 ERA in 45 games in . He also picked up his first career save. He went 2–7 with a 6.05 ERA in in 6 starts with the Cubs. He started the year in the Cubs bullpen but was sent down to the Iowa Cubs on June 3. On Opening Day in 2003, Cruz struck out 6 consecutive batters, becoming only the second Cubs reliever to do so. Atlanta Braves On March 25, , Cruz, along with Steve Smyth, were acquired by the Atlanta Braves, from the Chicago Cubs, for Andy Pratt and Richard Lewis. In 2004, with the Braves, Cruz went 6–2 with a 2.75 ERA in 50 relief appearances while setting a career high in wins and games pitched, and placed second in the Atlanta bullpen with 8.75 K's per 9 innings. Also, with runners in scoring position, opposing batters only hit .159 against him. Oakland Athletics On December 16, 2004, the Oakland Athletics acquired Cruz, along with Dan Meyer and Charles Thomas, from the Atlanta Braves, in exchange for Tim Hudson. In 2005, Cruz struggled in the