Is the outfield the right fit for Cruz? Pirates will restart experiment soon

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Oneil Cruz entered the clubhouse at Publix Field, went to his locker, took off his glove and kissed it. 

The Pirates’ team interpreter was still coaching from the dugout from the time, so Cruz did not comment on his 2-for-3 performance Wednesday – one hit had a 113.4 mph exit velocity, the other was against 2021 All-Star lefty reliever Gregory Soto – in the Pirates’ 6-6 tie against the Tigers.

But maybe that small moment at his locker tells the story.

Or maybe it was a couple days ago, when I asked if he and his longtime friend Rodolfo Castro were going to turn a double-play at PNC Park at some point this year. “More than one!” he playfully replied back, through interpreter Mike Gonzalez.

Or maybe it’s when he was asked during a group interview setting if he had a preference where he played, and he flipped his hand over to show his giant palm and then pointed to it, pantomiming fielding a ground ball.

He wants to stay at shortstop. 

Despite that, the Pirates are going to reboot the outfield experiment soon.

That experiment could very well be what the team cites as the reason if he does not make the opening day roster. Offensively, Cruz has been arguably the club’s top performer in camp, going deep twice entering play Wednesday. And despite playing only six games in Class AAA last year, he is regarded as the club’s top prospect by Baseball America and the preseason Rookie of the Year frontrunner.

Standing 6’7”, Cruz does not look like any other shortstop ever in the sport’s history. While having a potential elite hitter at shortstop is more valuable than an elite hitting outfielder because of the scarcity of the former, playing at least some outfield was always an inevitability for Cruz.

But given that organization selected the contracts of three outfield prospects this winter – Travis Swaggerty, Canaan Smith-Njigba and Jack Suwinski – and has eight true outfielders on the 40 man roster (not to mention those who could play both infield and outfield like Cole Tucker and Michael Chavis), it makes the need less apparent, unless the organization truly doesn’t believe he can play shortstop at the major-league level.

The club isn’t publicly stating that, emphasizing their organizational importance on players being flexible defensively.

“We prefer that he’s versatile,” Derek Shelton said before Wednesday's game. “That’s not saying that he can’t play shortstop. It’s not just in Oneil’s case. Versatility is a huge part of our club. If you look at our position player group, I would say almost all of them can play another position, maybe with the exception of the first basemen… We look at him as a shortstop, but we also look at building him to be a versatile player.”

The Pirates had Cruz begin playing some outfield last spring training. They broached the subject again in the middle of last season while with Class AA Altoona, but he did not appear in a game and the project was quickly paused when he was sidelined with a forearm injury. (The timing of the injury was coincidental, as Cruz had not yet begun to incorporate throwing drills from the outfield.)

“[Playing in the outfield] was something we were planning to do last summer, got interrupted by the injury,” Ben Cherington said at the start of camp. “Like just about every young player, that’s something we want to do as guys get to the upper levels.”

When Cruz got that first taste of the outfield last spring, it was mainly in center field, giving him a familiar angle to watch the game. With Bryan Reynolds in center, he’ll have to switch to a corner spot.

“The fact that PNC plays so big, probably see him in left field first because of how athletic he is,” Shelton said. “But I think he’s athletic enough that he can play any of the three.”

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Wil Crowe's second spring start went a bit smoother, throwing 49 pitches before being removed after 2 2/3 innings, including 10 whiffs.

Five of those whiffs came against the changeup on eight swings total. A year ago, it was arguably his best pitch. This year, he is going to up its usage and emphasize it more.

"It’s a plus pitch for me," Crowe said after the game. "You look at the data, at the numbers and I don’t know if it’s the way I throw it or the way I throw it off my fastball or whatnot but it’s a quality pitch and it gets a lot of swing and miss. We’re going to throw it more this year than we did last year, especially to the righties, too. I think it’s a good pitch. We’re just going to keep hammering it. It feels good to me.”

• Though it's not official yet, the expectation is that rosters will be expanded 28 players for the beginning parts of the season, giving teams an opportunity to carry one or two more pitchers.

 In the past, Shelton and the Pirates have experimented with piggyback starters and openers. Expanding the pitching staff could result in that happening again, and Crowe could theoretically be a candidate.

"Whatever they tell me to do is what I’m gonna do," Crowe said about the idea. "We haven’t spoke on it, but whatever it may be, whatever it looks like, we’re gonna go out and get guys out."

Shelton suggested starters will be stretched out to about four or five innings for opening day, so expect shorter starts regardless early on in the year.

• After being delayed getting into camp because he tested positive for COVID-19 while back home in South Korea, Hoy Park made his spring debut Wednesday, batting second and playing second.

Over the winter, he put on about 15-20 pounds after losing about that much over the final months of last season. On his first swing, he put that extra muscle to good use:

Before camp began, Park was perceived as a potential option for the opening day second base job

“I was ready to go when I was in Korea,” Park said. “I'm still working on swinging and throwing and catching, everything I did in Korea already. So it wasn't difficult to play in the game.”

• Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk had his first availability with the traveling media Wednesday. 

Blake Cederlind is beginning the bullpen mound phase of his progression back from Tommy John surgery. Nick Mears (right elbow surgery) should resume throwing in 10-14 days after also being placed on the 60-day injured list last week.

Miguel Yajure has yet to appear in a game because of a lumbar spine injury, and Max Kranick experienced some right forearm tightness during a bullpen during the lockout. Yajure is throwing live batting practices and Kranick will resume soon.

Travis Swaggerty (left shoulder) experienced his injury in camp and is cleared to hit. It's a minor injury the team believes he suffered because he ramped up his long toss to prepare for camp too quickly.