This offseason decision could turn Oneil Cruz into a defensive weapon in 2026

The Pittsburgh Pirates took a step backwards in 2025, winning only 71 games after posting 76 wins in each of the previous two seasons. While there's certainly plenty of blame to go around, one of the team's biggest disappointments was center fielder Oneil Cruz.

Despite posting a second consecutive 20-home run season and tying for the National League lead with 38 stolen bases, Cruz hit just .200 and saw his OPS drop by a staggering 97 points. The 2025 campaign was also Cruz's first as a full-time center fielder (after being suddenly moved to the position late in the prior season), and the results were a bit of a mixed bag.

There's plenty of work to do to get Cruz back to where the Pirates need him to be, and he appears to have embraced that challenge, telling the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he had "no time to relax" when he went home to the Dominican Republic for the winter. While the primary focus of his offseason training was making more contact at the plate, especially against left-handed pitching, it's the defensive work Cruz has done since returning to the States that has garnered the most attention.

Pirates' Oneil Cruz training with Platinum Glove defender ahead of the 2026 season

In November, former MLB outfielder Kevin Kiermaier took to X to let teams know that he wants to work with players in an attempt to "revolutionize outfield defense."

Kiermaier's resume speaks for itself—he won four Glove Gloves in his 12-year MLB career and firmly established himself as one of the best defensive outfielders in MLB history. He won the AL Platinum Glove Award in 2015 after posting an absurd 37 Defensive Runs Saved in center field. Since DRS has been tracked (since 2003), that's the second-highest single-season total by any player at any position, trailing only shortstop Andrelton Simmons' 42 DRS in 2017.

Not surprisingly, Kiermaier's post was flooded with replies from Pirates fans who wanted to see him work specifically with Cruz. Evidently, the Pirates' outfielder agreed, as his agent got in touch with Kiermaier the following day. With Cruz now back in Florida (where Kiermaier lives), the pair has convened multiple times.

Cruz's immense talent is no secret—his 93rd percentile sprint speed and 100th percentile arm strength are both huge assets in center field. Kiermaier is hoping that "good technique and focus and determination" will enable Cruz to become an elite defender in the grass.

Cruz admitted to struggling with things like reaction time, route efficiency, and properly throwing to bases—understandable for someone who was a shortstop until a year and a half ago. But there may be no better teacher on planet Earth than Kiermaier, and the work Cruz has already put in speaks to his determination to get better.

There's recent precedent for players moving from the infield to the outfield and becoming elite defenders. Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Alex Gordon were each average-at-best infielders who moved to the outfield early in their MLB careers—they've combined for 16 Gold Gloves and 4 Platinum Gloves. Cruz certainly possesses the physical talent to join that group if he's able to apply Kiermaier's teaching in-game.

It's fair to wonder if the strain of learning such a demanding position practically on the fly contributed to Cruz's struggles at the plate last season. Becoming a plus defender on its own would skyrocket his value. If that were to be accompanied by a rebound at the plate, Cruz could become a really special player.

The Pirates need Cruz to return to form in 2026. Hopefully, all the work he is putting in this winter will mark the beginning of that coming to fruition.