Mound Visit: De La Cruz will provide much needed power surge

One of the biggest things the Pirates needed at the trade deadline was a right-handed bat with power that could play the outfield.

To fill that need, Ben Cherington went out and snagged 27-year-old Bryan De La Cruz.

In a trading spree that started shortly before the trade deadline passed, Cherington sent minor leaguers Jun-Seok Shim and Garret Forrester, who was the No. 18 prospect in the Pirates' system according to MLB Pipeline, to the Marlins for the free-swinging outfielder from the Dominican Republic. 

When meeting with reporters via Zoom on Tuesday, Cherington said De La Cruz is a player the Pirates have had their eye on and is someone who has produced in a bigger ballpark like loanDepot Park in Miami.

"He has real physical ability, big power, solid defender in the corners," Cherington said. "He’s someone that even going back to when he was acquired by the Marlins from Houston, we had had our eyes on. We’ve got some personal relationships, people that know him. He was a target. He was someone that we felt like it was a good time to get a new start from Miami in Pittsburgh. We are excited to get him in our lineup, see what he can do and get to know him better.”

De La Cruz is coming off one of his best seasons as a professional. While leading the Marlins to the playoffs and a third-place finish in the NL East last season, De La Cruz hit 19 home runs and recorded 78 RBIs while producing a slash line of .257/.304/.411.

The 6-2, 175-pound outfielder is on track to top both of those totals this season if he continues to trend upward once he steps on the diamond at PNC Park. He's already got 18 home runs and 51 RBIs and is slashing a .245/.289/.417. However, he did strike out 142 times in 2023 and has already tallied 118 strikeouts this season, which is currently the 14th most in the league.

De La Cruz is also not going to walk a lot. He tallied 40 walks all of last season and has only recorded 25 this season. It's one of his weakest attributes as he's in the 16th percentile of walk percentage, according to Baseball Savant. 

That also falls in line with several other weaknesses. He's ranked in the 26th percentile in chase percentage, 22nd percentile in whiff percentage and 24th percentile in strikeout percentage. Simply put, he's a free-swinging hitter who has displayed power throughout his career.

I mean, look at this home run from earlier this year against the Cardinals. 

It went 429 feet with a 108.4 mph exit velocity. That's why the Pirates went after De La Cruz and that's why they brought him in. 

He displays great power to all fields and will immediately give this Pirates lineup a middle-of-the-order bat that can drive runs in. He's in the 76th percentile of barrel percentage and the 67th percentile of hard-hit percentage. 

He'll protect both Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz and could become the next Pirate, not named Bryan Reynolds, to drive in 75 or more runs in a season since Josh Bell drove in 116 in 2019.

Along with showcasing power, De La Cruz uses the whole field. He's tallied 104 hits so far this season, which is 33rd in the league. While a greater percentage of his hits are to the left side, he sprays the ball all over the ballpark. He's shown an ability to hit for power to right field and often finds gaps and open pieces of grass in the shallow outfield.

De La Cruz is also solid defensively. He's played a majority of his career in left field, which probably won't be the case in Pittsburgh because of Reynolds, but he has played all three outfield spots during his career. He's never recorded more than five errors in a season and has only committed one in 2024.

According to Baseball Savant, his range is dismal, falling in the fourth-percentile, but he makes up for that shortcoming with arm value, which lands in the 95th percentile, and arm strength, which is ranked in the 85th percentile.

He could slide perfectly into right field, allowing Michael A. Taylor to take over full-time in centerfield and he could also spell Andrew McCutchen at times as the designated hitter if Joshua Palacios gets into the lineup.

Overall, while De La Cruz's on-base percentage of .289 is horrifying, his power will be a welcome sight in this lineup, especially with Nick Gonzales on the 10-day injured list. 

Adding De La Cruz behind both Reynolds and Cruz could be the jolt this offense needs as it tries to make a push to the postseason. 

Let's just add one more home run for good measure.