Pirates All 40: Oneil Cruz Primed for a Breakout Season

This is one in a series of stories breaking down members of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.

Oneil Cruz is as unique as it comes in Major League Baseball.

The 26-year-old is a physical specimen. He has as much raw power and speed as anyone in the game. And he does it all with a 6-foot-7 frame.

Cruz returned to the field this past season after suffering a gruesome ankle injury just nine games into his 2023 campaign. The tallest shortstop in MLB history, Cruz had a solid first full season in the big leagues, but it came with a sudden change.

On offense, Cruz finished with a respectable .259/.324/.449 batting line and set career-highs in doubles (34), home runs (21) and RBIs (76). He also went an astonishing 22 for 23 in stolen base attempts, finishing with a 20 home run/20 stolen bases season.

Almost nobody averaged a higher exit velocity than Cruz (95.5 mph), and his bat speed (78.6 mph) was in the 100th-percentile of MLB players.

Defensively, it was a different story for Cruz. In 112 games at shortstop, Cruz committed 24 errors and posted minus-nine defensive runs saved along with below-average range.

But Cruz also has one of the strongest arms in baseball. Because of his arm strength and sprint speed, the Pirates unexpectedly decided to transition Cruz to center field late in the season.

The reasoning, however, was sound. The Pirates needed to give Cruz enough time at short to properly evaluate him for a larger sample, especially with his surgically-repaired ankle.

The decision was announced by manager Derek Shelton late in August. After a few days of practice, Cruz made his center field debut on Aug. 29. Despite some not-so-great metrics, Cruz seemed to pass the eye test in his first handful of chances in center field.

With an entire offseason to get acclimated at his new position, the expectations will be higher for Cruz as he enters the 2025 season as the everyday center fielder.

But there’s also more potential for Cruz with the bat in his hands. If he’s able to put it all together, Cruz has the potential to be a 30/30 playe. And for the Pirates, he presents a potential difference-maker to a lineup that needs to show drastic improvement.

Background

• Cruz originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2015.
• Two years later, the Pirates acquired Cruz from the Dodgers as part of the return for left-hander Tony Watson.
• Cruz peaked as high as No. 26 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects list in 2022.
• Cruz led the league this season with a 95.7% success rate on stolen base attempts. He also finished with the second-most errors (26).
• Career highlight: Cruz went 5 for 5 with two RBIs on Aug. 9 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Contract stats: Cruz is not yet eligible for salary arbitration.