In the Dominican on Tuesday, Leones del Escogido announced that the Pittsburgh Pirates shut down shortstop Oneil Cruz earlier than expected. He was supposed to play for two more weeks according to the original agreement made between the Pirates and Leones. Cruz played just eight games this winter, hitting .185/.267/.259, with two doubles, two walks and ten strikeouts in 30 plate appearances. He committed one error in 36 chances.
Pablo Reyes went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a run scored. He’s hitting .180/.203/.361 in 16 games.
Christian Kelley made his third start behind the plate and went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. He’s 1-for-8 with a single and a walk.
Williams Jerez tossed a scoreless inning with one walk and two strikeouts. He has allowed three earned runs over 9.1 innings and 12 appearances this winter, with all three runs coming in the same game.
Jesus Liranzo retired the only batter he faced on Tuesday, stranding two inherited runners. He has a 4.32 ERA in 16.2 innings over 19 appearances.
In Puerto Rico, Yacksel Rios made his winter debut, allowing one run on two hits in one inning. Even though the Pirates have a working agreement with Gigantes de Carolina, Rios plays for Indios de Mayaguez. That’s because he’s from Puerto Rico and was subject to their winter draft, so he already had a team before he joined the Pirates.
Chris Sharpe went 1-for-4 with a single and a walk. He’s hitting .200/.298/.275 through 13 games.
In Mexico, Fabricio Macias went 1-for-3 with a single and a run scored. He also picked up an outfield assist. He’s hitting .265/.311/.357 in 34 games. The average OPS in the league is .691 this winter. Macias isn’t far off of that pace, despite the fact that he’s a 21-year-old Low-A player in a league where the average age is 29, and the average player at least has Triple-A experience. Approximately 40 players have MLB experience in the league this year.
