Oneil Cruz's accident in Dominican Republic latest legal issue involving Pirates player

As if owning the worst record in baseball wasn’t bad enough, the Pittsburgh Pirates received another brutal blow when one of their top prospects was involved in an accident that killed three people.

When Dominican Republic investigators found Oneil Cruz was driving under the influence of alcohol and past a covid-19 curfew when he crashed into a motorcycle carrying two men and a woman on a highway, the 21-year-old’s promising career suddenly was in jeopardy.

The Pirates said in a statement Cruz was “cooperating fully with the local authorities” and that they would “provide an update as more information becomes available.” But the team provided no updates Wednesday, when a virtual coercion hearing was postponed until Friday.

“Obviously, we care about anybody in the Pirates organization,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I don’t think it’s fair in this situation to comment until we have all the information available because it is an ongoing situation. Until that point comes up, we won’t make any further comments on it.”

The news sent shockwaves throughout PNC Park, even though Cruz wasn’t on the major-league roster. MLB.com ranks the 6-foot-7 shortstop as the No. 3 prospect in the organization and No. 60 overall, and as a member of the 40-man roster, he spent the summer at their alternate training camp in Altoona.

“I don’t have too much information about that yet, but I heard the news and that affected me a lot,” said Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco, a fellow Dominican who expected Cruz to join the Pirates when the alternate camp broke. “That was hard for me. When we got back from Cincinnati and I saw the other guys that were down there in Altoona with him, I asked them, ‘Where’s Oneil?’ They said, ‘No, he went back to the Dominican.’ Now, that happened and I was like, wow. …

“That just crossed my mind. I asked about him a couple days ago, and now that happened. That’s really sad. Those young guys and the little girl that lost their life, that’s sad. I don’t have much to say (because) I don’t really know the details.”

Cruz could become the third rising international star the Pirates have lost to legal troubles, following the arrests of third baseman Jung Ho Kang in 2016 and closer Felipe Vazquez last September.

A star in South Korea, Kang quickly became a fan favorite after hitting .287 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015. His rookie season ended with an injury, when Kang suffered a fractured leg and torn MCL in his left knee when Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs slid into him at second base in September. But Kang returned to hit 21 homers with 62 RBIs the following season.

When Kang was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in December 2016 in South Korea, the Pirates learned it was his third such offense. It prevented Kang from getting a visa to return to the U.S. until 2018, when he rejoined the team for the final three games of that season.

The Pirates named Kang their starting third baseman at the start of last season, but he struggled at the plate after the long layoff and lost the job to Colin Moran. After batting .169 with 10 homers, Kang was designated for assignment on Aug. 2 and released two days later.

Vazquez, of Venezuela, was arrested last September for allegedly sending sexually explicit photographs to a teenage girl. He also was charged with statutory sexual assault of a minor, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor.

A two-time All-Star, Vazquez had 86 saves in four seasons with the Pirates, including 37 in 2018 and 28 last season. The left-hander who was nicknamed “Nightmare” for his fastball that touched triple digits on the radar gun remains in Westmoreland County Jail.

The emergence of Vazquez as closer allowed the Pirates to trade Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 for Cruz and Angel German. Cruz hadn’t made it to the majors but was projected as a potential starter in years to come. For the Pirates, the nightmare continues.