Oneil Cruz's ability to cover outfield ground shows Pirates made right decision

For the first time since making the transition to center field, Oneil Cruz faced some real defensive tests in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9-4 win over the Washington Nationals Thursday – and he passed with flying colors.

Thursday's contest forced Cruz to make multiple plays to track down balls in the gap, including a two-out, full-count fastball from Pirates reliever Carmen Mlodzinski that Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz drove to deep left center in the sixth inning. Cruz ... well, cruised ... into left field territory to make the grab with ease and end the inning.

According to post on X from MLB.com's Alex Stumpf, Statcast tracked the play as a 50% catch probability. But Cruz made the play look 100% simple. Even the most highly-trained baseball eye would never guess that he had only been manning center field for just over a week.

In his postgame media availability, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he was actually looking for left fielder Billy McKinney to make that specific play. However, he said Cruz got a good jump and took a good angle to get to the ball, which was "a really encouraging sign."

Oneil Cruz's ability to cover outfield ground shows Pirates made right decision

At a hulking 6-foot-7, Cruz had always looked somewhat out of place at shortstop. He also has lightning-fast speed and a cannon for an arm that never quite got maximized in the middle infield.

Or, more specifically, when his arm strength did get maximized, it usually resulted in a throwing error over the head of the first baseman. He is virtually unparalleled in terms of raw athletic talent, but he lacks a certain level of polish.

Obviously, Cruz's lack of polish got exposed at a high-visibility position like shortstop, prompting the move to center field in the first place. In fairness, it does seem like a natural fit for a speedster like Cruz, and the play he made in Thursday's game is evidence of that. However, changing positions should not be treated as the end-all, be-all remedy for Cruz's defensive woes; it is merely the first step toward refining his raw talent into productive and consistent skills.

The Pirates have relocated Cruz to center field; now, they must continue to develop him into a center fielder.

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