On Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they will be moving Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field.
The move is one that makes sense for this franchise going forward. Cruz was moved to shortstop full-time in 2018, with the idea of maximizing his athleticism and potentially developing a star two-way player at one of the most difficult positions to fill. He remained at shortstop exclusively until 2022, when he spent 81 innings in left field.
Since his call-up to the Majors in 2022, Cruz has played all but one inning at shortstop. Out of 31 shortstops with 1500+ innings since that point, Cruz ranks sixth in errors, while playing the fourth fewest innings of that qualified group. His advanced metrics in that group don’t look better:
- 24th in Defensive Runs Saved
- 24th in Plus Minus
- 31st in UZR/150
- 28th in Statcast Outs Above Average
- 28th in Statcast Fielding Run Value
The Ultimate Zone Rating provides a telling breakdown. Cruz ranks 17th in the group for his Range, and 13th for Double Play Runs, but ranks 30th in Error Runs.
It has become common this year to see Cruz miss what looks like a routine play, or to make a bad throw with his elite arm. The shortstop position requires not just range and familiarity around the bag, but consistent quick reactions and accurate movements from those reactions.
The move to center field will give Cruz more time to react, and more forgiveness if his initial reaction isn’t accurate. His elite sprint speed will play in the outfield, and his tendency to take charge chasing after a ball should play well in the middle of the field, versus a corner. His elite arm strength will still provide value, this time in holding runners from taking an extra base, versus trying to beat them sprinting through first base.
In place of Cruz at shortstop, the Pirates will be turning to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Since the 2022 season, Kiner-Falefa has 1341 innings at shortstop. There are 41 shortstops with 1000+ innings from 2022-2024. Of that group, Kiner-Falefa consistently ranks above Cruz:
- 12th in Defensive Runs Saved vs 34th
- 10th in Plus Minus vs 33rd
- 25th in UZR/150 vs 41st
- 30th in Statcast OAA vs 37th
- 32nd in Statcast FRV vs 37th
With Nick Gonzales returning to second base, the shuffling means that the Pirates will be upgrading their offense. If you look at the majority of the 2024 season, the Pirates had Cruz, Gonzales, and Michael A. Taylor in the lineup. Kiner-Falefa upgrades over Taylor. If you look at the last few weeks, Gonzales upgrades over Ji Hwan Bae and Taylor.
Taylor had a .242 wOBA. Bae has a .212 mark. Gonzales is at .293, while Kiner-Falefa is .286 since joining the Pirates, which is in line with his last two seasons. No matter how you view the offensive upgrade, the Pirates are moving from some of the worst performances in the league, to just under league average.
The question will be whether Cruz can provide enough value in center field to not detract from his hitting. That’s the same question he faced at shortstop, and that question was answered. Cruz had six seasons to exclusively work on upgrading his game, and didn’t show progress toward being a passable defender.
The Pirates are upgrading in the middle of the infield by moving to Kiner-Falefa at shortstop, while downgrading in center field going from Taylor to Cruz. The offense upgrades in the process. The overall trade might be an upgrade, and that all depends on how Cruz handles center.
New Prospect Rankings
Version 4.0 of my top 50 tiered rankings was released on Monday. It’s a massive update, with information on 30 players. Check out the article, or if you just want the rankings, head over to the Top 50 page.
