Oneil Cruz shuts down return to shortstop as Pirates fans flip-flop on CF performance

A lot went wrong in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 5-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. Despite a quality start from Mitch Keller, the Pirates left 13 men on base and went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position; but perhaps the most glaring issues came on defense – specifically in center field.

Oneil Cruz, who had appeared in 12 games in center with minus-1 defensive runs saved and two throwing errors prior to Saturday, had a rough go of it in his 13th game at the position. In the fifth inning, he dove for an Adam Frazier line drive that got past him, allowing Frazier to end up with a triple and later score. Two innings later, Cruz misplayed a deep fly ball from Bobby Witt Jr. and was originally charged with an error before the official scorer reversed the call to an RBI double.

Cruz's costly defensive miscues resulted directly in runs for Kansas City, and he has now fallen to minus-4 defensive runs saved in center field. His rough day may have caused some Pirates fans to hit the panic button, triggering memories of his error-prone play at shortstop that prompted the position switch in the first place. But when you take a middle infielder and put him in center field, there are bound to be some bumps in the road; it's just unfortunate that two of those bumps happened to be in the same game.

Pirates' Oneil Cruz says he won't return to shortstop, believes defensive switch has helped his offense

Cruz's poor defensive showing on Saturday prompted some legitimate, albeit premature, questions about whether he would entertain a return to shortstop. But Cruz put a definitive end to any speculation.

“I’m good in center field now. I’m not coming back to shortstop,” Cruz told reporters on Saturday (via John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now). “I feel like out there I feel comfortable now. I feel like I’ve got more space and more mental peace to focus on my offense.”

That space and mental peace appear to be serving Cruz well, as there is little to complain about when it comes to his offense. He drove in the Pirates' lone run in Saturday's loss and is hitting .268 on the season. He is also closing in on a 20-20 campaign with 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases with 13 games remaining.

Still, Saturday's game was a reminder of the magnitude of the transition that Cruz has been tasked with undertaking. In the meantime, perhaps we should give him a little more grace as he figures things out.

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