The Pirates are moving talented youngster Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field. He’s in the lineup as designated hitter Monday night, but will transition to center and manager Derek Shelton told reporters, including MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, that Cruz will remain a center fielder for the “foreseeable future.”
Shelton also told reporters that Cruz’s season-ending injury last season was a factor in the decision.
Cruz broke his leg last April when he slid into home plate and collided with White Sox catcher Seby Zavala. An argument could be made that playing shortstop is more physically demanding than center field, of course, but Cruz has played in 112 games at shortstop this season.
The move here is very interesting. Cruz is a freak of an athlete and has one of the best arms in all of baseball. Statcast metrics like run value and outs above average show him as below average, but not ridiculously so. That said, he does have 24 errors to his name this year, the second most in MLB. Twelve of those have come since July 21.
It’s especially an odd move given the timing. Usually an everyday player wouldn’t completely change positions in late August, but instead during spring training or as the result of a major injury. Cruz’s shift accompanies the return of Nick Gonzales from a groin injury suffered in late July, but the latter was steadily manning second base before he went down.
Cruz, 25, has never played center field even in the minors. He has 80 innings of Triple-A experience in left field and one inning there in the majors. He’s certainly athletic enough to become a great defender in center. Time will tell.
This season, Cruz is hitting .265/.324/.468 (120 OPS+) with 29 doubles, three triples, 18 homers, 63 RBI, 57 runs, 17 steals and 2.5 WAR.
The Pirates have won four of their last six games, but earlier this month dropped 10 straight, essentially burying them in the playoff race.
