Oneil Cruz's 20/20 season with Pirates doesn't outweigh his very obvious flaws

It's been a rollercoaster of a season for Oneil Cruz, but his latest accomplishment has seen him join rare company in Pittsburgh Pirates franchise history.

In Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, Cruz smoked a 442-foot home run to center field off Reds starter Hunter Greene to open the scoring in what would be a 2-0 Pirates victory.

Heading into the final week of the season, Cruz has 21 homers and 22 stolen bases, making him just the 10th different player in Pirates history to go 20/20 in a single season.

It's a nice feather in Cruz's cap after he missed the majority of the 2023 campaign with a broken leg and embarked on a frustrating 2024 season that has included an abrupt position change from shortstop to center field. There aren't many players who possess his combination of speed and raw power, but still, Cruz joining the Pirates' 20/20 club shouldn't distract from the areas where he still needs to improve.

Oneil Cruz's 20/20 season with Pirates doesn't eliminate his very obvious flaws

When the Pirates abruptly moved Cruz from shortstop to center field in late August, the 25-year-old had the unenviable task of learning a completely new position in the middle of the season. To his credit, Cruz has handled the switch admirably and appears to be adapting well, with his elite speed and 6-foot-7 frame allowing him to cover plenty of ground in the outfield.

Cruz's position change came after he struggled significantly at shortstop, racking up the second-most fielding errors behind Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (who, as it turns out, is also a member of the 20/20 club). According to FanGraphs, Cruz had minus-3 outs above average in his 112 games at shortstop this season.

In center field, though, Cruz has plus-two outs above average over 148 innings. It's certainly an improvement, but he still has some work to do; his cannon of an arm has gotten him into some trouble, resulting in a pair of throwing errors that has led to minus-three defensive runs saved.

In fairness, no one should have expected Cruz's transition to center field to be a seamless one. The Pirates may have done him a disservice by moving him in the middle of the season; but with a full offseason to train at the position, Cruz should (hopefully) come back next year as an improved defender.

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