Speaking at Pittsburgh Pirates FanFest over the weekend, manager Derek Shelton gave a great update on shortstop Oneil Cruz.
Per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Derek Shelton on Oneil Cruz: "He’s healthy. He’s moving around. That’s a really encouraging sign for everybody who’s a Pirates fan."
With spring training just six weeks away, it seems as if Cruz will have no restrictions as the team reports to Florida. He broke his leg last April sliding into home and never made it back for the rest of the season. He did participate in some instructional league action in the Dominican Republic this winter, but spring training will be his first full game action in nearly a year.
Cruz is a huge part of what the Pirates do and a major centerpiece of their organizational rebuild. He hit .250 for the 2023 season in that limited action with a homer, four RBI and three stolen bases through just 32 at-bats.
He made his major league debut in 2021 but really burst out in 2022, clocking 19 home runs and bringing in 61 in just 87 games.
In addition to Cruz, the Pirates also have Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes locked up long-term, which gives fans of the organization some excitement. Pittsburgh also selected LSU right-hander Paul Skenes with the No. 1 pick in the draft in July. He is the best organizational pitching prospect since Gerrit Cole, who just won the Cy Young Award with the Yankees.
The Pirates finished fourth in the National League Central in 2023 but are clearly working to come out of their rebuild. They've acquired pitchers Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales this offseason and have brought back Andrew McCutchen.
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