Pirates' trade deadline nightmare just found his next victim in free agency

According to multiple reports, Philadelphia Phillies signed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a minor league contract earlier this month.

For Pittsburgh Pirates fans, this news hits like finding out the monster under your bed got a job at Target. It’s harmless now — but you’ll never forget what it did to you.

De La Cruz is still the face of Pittsburgh's 2024 trade deadline disaster, a walking reminder of Ben Cherington's inability to land real MLB bats when it matters. Cherington added De La Cruz to a lineup that desperately needed right-handed power, an everyday outfielder and literally anyone who could hit with runners in scoring position –– and De La Cruz only made an already underperforming lineup even worse.

Bryan De La Cruz signs minor league deal with Phillies, reminding Pirates fans of 2024 trade deadline disaster

De La Cruz showed promise early in his career with the Miami Marlins, and the Pirates had hoped that he would be a big part of their Wild Card push. Instead, he became the face of their second-half nosedive.

In 44 games with the Pirates, De La Cruz slashed .200/.220/.294 with three home runs and 17 RBI. He still had three-plus years of team control remaining when he joined the Pirates, but that's all it took for him to go from lineup savior to non-tender candidate by the end of the year. His stint in Pittsburgh wasn’t long, but it was unforgettable in the worst possible way — a perfect little snapshot of everything Pirates fans hate about how this team operates.

In De La Cruz, the Phillies fans see a depth signing. But Pirates fans? They see trauma.

De La Cruz is now an afterthought for most baseball fans, a depth piece for a contender, a “maybe he clicks in a new environment” lottery ticket. But in Pittsburgh, he'll forever be remembered as the hitter who was supposed to save the 2024 offense and instead tanked it even further.

De La Cruz is harmless now. He’s depth. He’s probably not even making the Opening Day roster.

But to Pirates fans? He’ll always be the guy who crushed their Wild Card dreams in Paul Skenes' rookie season by failing to produce — and that sting isn’t going away anytime soon.