Perrotto: Give Ben Cherington Credit for Swallowing Pride

All general managers make mistakes.

Pittsburgh Pirates GM Ben Cherington is no different. During his five years on the job, he has made his share of bad trades and free-agent signings.

However, GMs don’t always like admitting to mistakes. They will stubbornly hold on to nonproductive players long after acquiring them.

That is why Cherington deserves credit for a move he made Friday when the Pirates did not tender right fielder Bryan De La Cruz a contract, making the 27-year-old a free agent.

The Pirates acquired De La Cruz from the Miami Marlins on July 30 for a pair of prospects. The expectation was that De La Cruz would add thump to the Pirates’ lineup as the franchise tried to reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.

Instead, De La Cruz was a colossal bust. A 10-game losing streak shortly after De La Cruz’s arrival ended the Pirates’ playoff hopes and they finished 76-86 for their 28th losing season in the last 32 years.

In 44 games with the Pirates, De La Cruz hit .200/.220/.294 with three home runs. He walked four times and struck out in 52 of 168 plate appearances. He also had minus-3 defensive runs saved in his two months in Pittsburgh.

Yet it would have been easy for Cherington to be prideful and keep De La Cruz for another season. The Pirates don’t have a lot of good outfield options for 2025. Cherington could have hoped that De La Cruz would bounce back and justify the trade.

However, Cherington took a hard look at De La Cruz and admitted the obvious: While he is a wonderfully nice guy, he is not a very good player.

De La Cruz was leading the Marlins with 18 homers when traded. There was no way, though, that the Pirates could go through the arbitration process with De La Cruz when he was projected to have a $4-million salary next season by MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz

The good news for Cherington is the Pirates did not pay a steep price for De La Cruz.

Right-hander Jun-Seok Shim and corner infielder/catcher Garrett Forrester have the potential to be good big-league players, but neither is considered a can’t-miss prospect. The Pirates also paid De La Cruz a prorated share of his $768,000 salary, approximately $250,000.

It is never easy to admit a mistake, especially less than four months after a trade was made for a player the Pirates hoped would be a long-term lineup piece. Yet Cherington did even if it involved some pride swallowing.