He played during five seasons at the major league level for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers.

Cruz represented the Dominican Republic at the 1975 Pan American Games, and afterward was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1976.

[1] He made his major league debut on June 24, and spent the rest of the season with the Blue Jays, finishing the year with a 7–3 record and a 1.71 ERA in 32 games.

[2] Upon joining the Indians, Cruz modified his pitching style closer to that of Luis Tiant; the media had noted at the time that the two also had identical mustaches.

After the 1980 season, Gary Alexander, Bob Owchinko, Rafael Vasquez and Cruz were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Manny Sanguillen and Bert Blyleven.