Pirates' Don Kelly sends Oneil Cruz to the bench with a message he can’t ignore

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly sent a loud and clear message to center fielder Oneil Cruz (and the rest of the team) during Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers: Effort isn't optional.

Cruz was benched during Tuesday's contest after he failed to run out a double-play ball during the seventh inning. As the Pirates trailed 7-3 with a runner on first, Cruz hit a grounder to Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz, who flipped the ball to second base to secure the first out.

At that point, Cruz committed a cardinal sin, something that even his six-year-old son would probably know better than to do – he stopped running up the first base line. Brice Turang fired the ball to first, completing the double play and ending the frame.

Cruz remained in the game on defense in the bottom of the seventh inning, but after a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, Alexander Canario replaced him in center field. There was some speculation that Cruz might have suffered an injury on the play, causing him to slow down and ultimately leave the game, but Kelly confirmed after the game that his benching of Cruz was intentional and due to his lack of "energy and effort."

This incident comes less than a week after Cruz committed an error in center field on Friday, when he received criticism for not running after the ball when a line drive up the middle bounced past his glove. Kelly addressed it with Cruz but let him stay in the game. This time, Cruz wasn't so lucky.

“I think we were pretty clear the other day, and he knows the expectation going forward,” Kelly said following Tuesday's game (via Ryan Herrera of MLB.com). “We talked, but he knows the expectation, and right there, I think we fell a little short.”

Pirates' Don Kelly sends Oneil Cruz to the bench with a message he can’t ignore

For Kelly, this was a chance to enforce the Pirates’ expectations. Cruz, to his credit, didn't disagree with the decision. Speaking through assistant coach and Major League interpreter Stephen Morales after the game, he said, “DK had all the rights to do what he did, and I'll back him up on that.”

Even if Cruz didn't realize that it was only the second out of the inning, that's no excuse for slowing up on the base paths – especially when you're 6-foot-7 and rank second among all MLB hitters with 26 stolen bases on the year. No one is immune from punishment for a lack of effort, and Kelly made that clear with his decision on Tuesday, sending a clear message of accountability.

When asked after Tuesday's game whether Cruz would be in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale, Kelly wouldn't commit. If he really wants to send that accountability message home, he'll leave Cruz on the bench for nine more innings.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter