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

The Pirates are moving talented youngster Oniel Cruz from shortstop to center field. He is in the lineup as the designated hitter on Monday night, but will shift to center and manager Derek Shelton told reporters, including MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, that Cruz will remain the center fielder for the “foreseeable future.”

Shelton also told reporters that Cruz’s season-ending injury the previous 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 can be made that playing shortstop is more physically demanding than center field, but Cruz has played 112 games at shortstop this season.

Here’s where the move gets interesting. Cruz is a phenomenal athlete and has one of the best arms in baseball. Statcast metrics like run value and outs above average show him to be below average, but not ridiculous. However, he has 24 errors to his name this year, the second-most in MLB. Twelve of those have come since July 21st.

It’s an odd move given the timing. A typical player doesn’t usually switch positions entirely at the end of August, but rather does so during spring training or as a result of a major injury. Cruz’s shift coincided with Nick Gonzalez’s return from a back injury he suffered in late July, but he was consistently stationed at second base before moving down.

Cruz, 25, has never played center field, even in the minors. He has 80 innings of Triple-A experience in left field and one inning in the majors. He’s certainly athletic enough to be a great defender in center. Time will tell.

This season, Cruz is hitting .265/.324/.468 (120 OPS+) with 29 doubles, three triples, 18 homers, 63 RBI, 57 runs, 17 steals and 2.5 WAR.

The Pirates have won four of their last six matches but lost 10 in a row earlier this month, knocking them out of the playoff race.