Pirates Move Oneil Cruz to Center Field Due to Poor Defense at Shortstop

The Pittsburgh Pirates are making some defensive adjustments, as manager Derek Shelton told reporters today that Oneil Cruz will be moving from shortstop to center field for the final few weeks of the 2024 MLB season.

While he possesses an above average hit tool and a propensity for recording high exit velocity, Cruz has struggled defensively over his last four years at short. In 2022 and 2024 to date, he recorded a negative Outs Above Average. The other two seasons, he posted 0 OAA. The 25-year-old has never been able to parlay his elite athleticism into even above-average defense. This year, he has committed the second-most errors of all qualified shortstops. Pittsburgh’s hope is that the final games of 2024 will allow Cruz to become comfortable in the outfield.

Oneil Cruz has not played center field in his career. He has started 195 games in center field and 10 as Pittsburgh’s designated hitter. While he adjusts to his new position, the Pirates will put utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.

Does This Make Sense for Pittsburgh?

The immediate question is clear. How can the Pirates justify moving someone who has proven to be a poor defender at one premium defensive position to a different premium defensive position and expect better results? Well, one reason Pittsburgh can probably get away with it is they’ve been employing a miserably terrible offensive trio in center field this season. Here are the key numbers as of today for the Pirates’ two most common center fielders, Michael A. Taylor and Jack Suwinski, via Baseball Savant. Percentile ranks are in parentheses, with a value of 1 being the lowest and 100 being the highest.

No, not very good. Taylor is an extremely valuable defender, but that’s completely negated by the fact he’s among the worst hitters in the league. Suwinski is a little better at the plate but still not good, and his defensive metrics are subpar.

Ji Hwan Bae, Pittsburgh’s third center field option, hasn’t played enough to qualify for this chart. That in itself should probably indicate the level of value he’s offering.

What’s Next for Oneil Cruz?

Ultimately, moving Oneil Cruz to center field boils down to him being a better alternative to who Pittsburgh has been putting out there. He probably will continue to struggle as a defender, but the elite sprint speed and arm strength will play nonetheless. If this experiment backfires, maybe the Pirates move him to a less demanding corner outfield position. The physical tools are good enough to where they probably don’t consider slotting him in as a permanent DH for a while. In any case, you have to hide your bad defenders somewhere.

The logic of giving a notably bad defender another premium defensive assignment is questionable, but it checks out given the Pirates’ existing center field personnel. Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes. Maybe these last few weeks of the season will provide Oneil Cruz enough runway to be a serviceable defensive outfielder moving forward.

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