Perrotto: Pirates Make Potentially Fascinating Move With Oneil Cruz

PITTSBURGH – The idea of a 6-foot-7 shortstop with power, speed and a strong arm was intriguing.

That is why the Pittsburgh Pirates made such a big deal about Oneil Cruz debuting in the major leagues during the final weekend of the 2021 season. That is why they got so excited when he showed flashes of those tools after they called him in 2022. And that is why they were so disappointed in 2023 when his season ended after nine games because of a broken left ankle.

However, the 2024 season has shown that Cruz is not an everyday shortstop in the major leagues. He is far too inconsistent defensively as evidenced by his propensity of throwing balls away on seemingly routine plays and failing to make catches on balls thrown right to him.

The statistics do not lie.

Cruz has made 24 errors in 112 games, the second-highest total in the major leagues at any position after the 26 committed by Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

Cruz has minus-eight runs saved for those who like more esoteric defensive metrics. That puts him third from the bottom among players whose primary position is shortstop after the Milwaukee Brewers’ Willy Adames (12), Philadelphia Phillies’ Trea Turner (11) and Kansas City Royals’ Paul DeJong (9).

So, the Pirates made the logical move on Monday. They decided to shift Cruz from shortstop to center field.

Cruz was an outlier when he reached the major leagues. He became the tallest player to appear at shortstop in MLB history.

However, his error total suggests that playing shortstop doesn’t work for someone that tall. So does the 6-foot-6 De La Cruz’s defensive problems.

“It was a hard thing he was trying to do, obviously as we’ve all talked about it’s unusual to be that size and play shortstop,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He was doing a hard thing. If you think about watching the Olympics growing up and degree of difficulty, his degree of difficulty is just higher than other players at different spots. It just is.

“He’s worked really hard at it. We just got to a point where we had enough information to be more clear and believe that it could be in his best interest and ours both to make the move. We needed every piece of information to get to that point and it was just recently that we did. Now we’ll start that work and get him acclimated to center field.”

It will be interesting to see how Cruz transitions to center field as his outfield experience is limited.

He has played only one inning in the major leagues, making a cameo in left field in 2022. That same season, Cruz started nine games in left field for Triple-A Indianapolis and it didn’t go well as he looked lost in the outfield.

Moving Cruz to center field makes sense from a depth-chart standpoint. There is no center fielder of the future in the organization and veteran Michael A. Taylor has hit a paltry .196/.257/.284 in 100 games after being signed late in spring training as a free agent.

The Pirates also have a capable defender to plug in at shortstop in Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 30 in a trade and is under contract through next season.

Theoretically, Cruz’s lack of baseball instincts should not be exposed as much in center field. However, it is also easy to envision him colliding with other outfielders or infielders while chasing fly balls and inflicting potentially serious injuries.

The Pirates need Cruz more for his offense than his defense.

Cruz is hitting .265/.323/.466 with 18 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 118 games and has the talent to be even better. Perhaps no longer having to deal with the mental toll that playing shortstop takes will help Cruz concentrate more at the plate.

“Shortstop is a challenging position. I think we’re going see some freedom out of him,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The largest component of this is we’re taking a kid that’s an elite athlete and putting him in the middle of the field. You can impact the game from center field. I’m excited to see that. I’m excited to watch him do those things.”

Time will tell if Cruz pans out in center field but it’s worth taking a shot.