Pirates move shortstop Oneil Cruz to center field for the 'foreseeable future'

Manager Derek Shelton cited Cruz's season-ending 2023 injury as part of the reason behind the move

By Matt Snyder Aug 26, 2024 at 4:16 pm ET• 1 min read

The Pirates are moving talented youngster Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field. He's in the lineup as designated hitter Monday night, but will transition to center and manager Derek Shelton told reporters, including MLB.com's Alex Stumpf, that Cruz will remain a center fielder for the "foreseeable future." 

Shelton also told reporters that Cruz's season-ending injury last season was a factor in the decision. 

Cruz broke his leg last April when he slid into home plate and collided with White Sox catcher Seby Zavala. An argument could be made that playing shortstop is more physically demanding than center field, of course, but Cruz has played in 112 games at shortstop this season. 

The move here is very interesting. Cruz is a freak of an athlete and has one of the best arms in all of baseball. Statcast metrics like run value and outs above average show him as below average, but not ridiculously so. That said, he does have 24 errors to his name this year, the second most in MLB. Twelve of those have come since July 21.