Pirates fans just got a taste of the Oneil Cruz center field experiment after wild gaffe

Ever since his arrival in Bradenton earlier this month, "the new and improved Oneil Cruz" has been the talk of Pittsburgh Pirates spring training. Best shape of his life. Noticeably stronger. New haircut. New focus. A quote about going “right to work.” Mentorship from four-time Gold Glover Kevin Kiermaier to sharpen his center field instincts.

Then Wednesday happened.

In the third inning against the Atlanta Braves, Cruz tracked a fly ball off the bat of Drake Baldwin — and took a route that felt like it required GPS recalibration. He overran it. Badly. No sunglasses. No eye black. Just a meandering path that left televisions across western Pennsylvania in legitimate danger of having remotes hurled at them.

And just like that, Pirates fans got the full Oneil Cruz center field experience.

The maddening part? He also went 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.

That’s the Cruz paradox. The physical tools are breathtaking. The 38 stolen bases last year (tied with Juan Soto for the NL lead) show the athleticism. The exit velocities still make Statcast blush. When he squares a ball up, it sounds different.

But the details? The routes, the reads, the engagement pitch to pitch — those are the things that separate elite defenders from athletic experiments.

Oneil Cruz's center field gaffe vs Braves shows he still has room to improve defensively

This is a critical season for Cruz. He’s coming off the worst offensive year of his career — .200 average, .676 OPS, a 32% strikeout rate — and his struggles against lefties remain glaring. The Pirates are trying to win now in the Paul Skenes era. They can’t afford volatility in center field.

Spring training gaffes don’t define seasons, but they do reinforce narratives. And for Cruz, the narrative is still unfinished: immense raw talent, uneven execution.

If Cruz is going to turn the page, it won’t be because he added muscle or cut his dreadlocks. It will be because the routine plays become, well, routine.

Pirates fans saw the ceiling at the plate Wednesday. They also saw the floor in center field. And in 2026, which version shows up consistently might determine whether Pittsburgh contends — or just keeps wondering what could have been.