A surprise as the first player claimed in the 2011 Rule 5 draft, the Dominican righthander from the Mets organization made his big league debut with Houston on April 7, 2012. He started well but scuffled through the rest of the year to finish with a 1-1 mark and a 6.05 ERA.

He followed it up in 2013 with an 0-2 record and a 3.38 ERA in 20 games. He was released by the Astros the following year. Cruz resurfaced in 2018 for two games with Blue Jays.