Pirates A to Z: After 'tragic accident,' club counting on Oneil Cruz to make it to majors

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Trevor Williams. (The only MLB player with a surname that starts with Z is Detroit Tigers pitcher Jordan Zimmerman).

Oneil Cruz

Position: Shortstop

Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Age: 22

Height: 6-foot-7

Weight: 210 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: Spent the season at alternate training site in Altoona.

Contract: Hasn’t reached the major leagues.

Acquired: Trade from Los Angeles Dodgers, along with pitcher Angel German, in exchange for reliever Tony Watson in July 2017.

This past season: Cruz turned heads in spring training, not only for the obvious in trying to become the tallest shortstop in major league history but also his prodigious power at the plate and speed on the bases.

Oneil Cruz absolutely destroyed that baseball. ?#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/XibjPf9F0d

— Pirates (@Pirates) March 1, 2020

The No. 3 prospect in the Pirates’ organization by MLB.com, Cruz hit two doubles, a home run and had four RBIs but batted only .208 (5 of 24) in 16 Grapefruit League games. The Pirates optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis before the shutdown, and he spent the summer at the alternate training site in Altoona.

Just your standard opposite-field laser-beam double by a 6-foot-7 shortstop.

Here's where 21-year-old #Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz ranks among #MLB's Top 100: https://t.co/66C0q4QgK9 pic.twitter.com/wDUndjB343

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 23, 2020

Cruz never got a call-up in September but made headlines when he was involved in an accident that killed three people in his native Dominican Republic. Cruz was driving after a curfew mandated by the coronavirus crisis when his SUV crashed into the back of a motorcycle carrying two men and a woman that reportedly didn’t have headlights or tail lights on the Baní-San Cristóbal section of the Sánchez highway in the D.R.

According to initial reports, Cruz was driving under the influence of alcohol. Cruz was arrested but released on $34,000 bail. Both Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and Cruz’s private attorney have contested that alcohol was involved, and the club has pledged its support for Cruz.

“It’s a tragic accident and our hearts go out to the victims,” Cherington said. “And ‘accident’ is the word to emphasize. There is no indication or any piece of evidence that we’ve seen that suggests it’s anything but an accident. Oneil is a young player and a young person now that has been through something very traumatic, and we’re going to continue to work with him, support him through it. He’s been incredibly cooperative throughout this, done everything that’s been asked of him, so that’s all the information we have right now.”

Cherington said in late September that the Pirates had “no reason to believe (Cruz) wouldn’t be available for spring training,” and offered no further updates on Cruz earlier this week. Cruz will play winter ball in the Dominican for Los Gigantes del Cibao starting in November.

The future: The first big question for Cruz is whether he will be allowed to continue playing professional baseball or face jail time. If permitted to play, the next question is this: Which position?

For now, the Pirates plan to keep him at shortstop.

That’s the preference for Cruz, despite his height.

“For me, it’s the funnest and best position in baseball,” Cruz said in spring training, through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “I’ve always seen it like that since I was a child, mostly since there was so much action going on, constantly moving around, so I enjoy it a lot. …

“No one’s directly told me, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about moving you around or trying new positions.’ I have had a few people bring it up, just here and there, but my focus is shortstop. I really don’t care to play any other position. I want to do everything possible to maintain myself right there playing shortstop.”

Despite drafting Nick Gonzales as a shortstop with the No. 7 overall pick in the MLB Draft, the Pirates’ plan was to keep Cruz at shortstop in Altoona this summer.

“Part of that was because we believe he has a chance to do that because he has done it. He’s played defense at plenty a good enough level to project him as a major league shortstop,” Cherington said. “So that was our thinking coming into the year and then wanting to keep them at that position for as long as we can. And then of course the season got canceled, but that’s where he got his reps in Altoona, for the most part. So my expectation is he would come into spring training as a shortstop.”

Cherington allows that the Pirates have a surplus of shortstops, with Erik Gonzalez, Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker, and that Cruz could eventually end up playing another position. Cruz has been projected as a potential replacement for Josh Bell at first base or Gregory Polanco in right field, but the Pirates are intrigued by him at short.

“He is a different-looking shortstop because of how big he is, but he has really good instincts for the position,” Cherington said. “He has a knack of getting his body in a position to make plays. He does it differently than other players, has to do it differently because of his size. He’s got great arm strength. He shows a pretty good defensive clock — awareness of the runner and when he needs to get to the ball and get rid of it. His range is solid. His hands are plenty good.

“If on the back of his baseball card it said that he’s 6-2 instead of 6-7, I’m not sure the question would come up. But it says 6-7, so the question comes up. Long-term, if we have multiple people who can play shortstop and they’re all good, then we’ll have to figure out … it will be a good problem to have and we’ll have to figure out a place for him to play. But we don’t have any information that tells us right now that he shouldn’t be a shortstop, so that’s how twe’re thinking about it.”

Check out the entire Pirates A to Z series here.