Oneil Cruz had a black beanie pulled tight over his head, trying to conceal his biggest change of an ultra-important offseason for the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder. The first thing Cruz did upon returning to his native Dominican Republic was to have his barber chop off the shoulder-length dreadlocks he had been growing for a decade.
After leading the major leagues in bat speed and average exit velocity — boosted by a 122.9 mph home run that is the hardest recorded hit in MLB history — the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Cruz doesn’t subscribe to the theory that his prodigious power comes from the length of his hair.
“Those are lies. That doesn’t happen,” Cruz said with a smile through interpreter Stephen Morales on Friday night at PiratesFest at David L. Lawrence Convention Center. “We’ll see when the games start.”
Cruz is coming off an incredibly disappointing season, despite putting on a spectacular show in the Home Run Derby during All-Star festivities, leading the Pirates with 20 home runs and tying Juan Soto for the National League lead with 38 stolen bases.
I think it’s going to be a lot better this year#Pirates Oneil Cruz excited for 2026 pic.twitter.com/PqUAJ4jkDg
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) January 23, 2026
After hovering below the Mendoza Line most of the second half, Cruz finished with a .200/.298/.378 slash line that represented a 97-point dip in OPS. Yet Cruz showcased his five-tool talent by ranking in the top 10 percent in hard-hit rate, barrel percentage, baserunning value, arm strength and value and sprint speed, per Statcast.
The Pirates provided protection in the lineup for Cruz and Bryan Reynolds by adding a pair of All-Star sluggers in second baseman Brandon Lowe and first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, so this could be a make-or-break season for Cruz to live up to his potential for the Pirates. Cruz avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3.3 million contract, receiving a considerable raise that will only increase expectations for him to finally reach another level of stardom.
“It’s definitely something that we’re really, really digging into and focused on. It’s really important,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in late September. “We thought he was there for a couple of months. He got off to a little bit of a rough start, stabilized and then was proving he could play center field. That part, I think he mostly has done. It looked like for a couple of months that he was about to reach that next level, but it hasn’t happened. I think particularly since the All-Star break, the offensive production just hasn’t been there. He’s aware of that.
“We’re digging into it with him. I think the offseason is going to be really important for him. Mostly, it just comes down to approach and swing decisions with him. When he makes contact and barrels the ball, still really good things are happening. It’s just what pitches he’s swinging at and how consistent in that approach.”
Cruz got off to a red-hot start last season, posting a .902 OPS with eight home runs and 16 RBIs in his first 28 games to earn an invitation to the Home Run Derby. Getting a taste of that grand stage in Atlanta last July — his 513-foot homer at Truist Park tied the record for longest in a Derby outside of Coors Field — only made Cruz crave a chance to play in his first Midsummer Classic. But he batted a dreadful .177/.255/.311 with only 12 extra-base hits over his final 50 games, prompting the Pirates to drop him to fifth in the batting order after batting third and leadoff in the first half.
“Like every player in the big leagues, for sure I want to be an All-Star. It’s just a matter of going out there and doing my best every day,” Cruz said. “Things aren’t going to go my way sometimes. Sometimes they don’t. … For sure, I can belong to that group. All I have to do is impact the game like I know that I can.”
Cruz wants to leave his struggles behind, just like he let go of his ’locs (which he kept as a souvenir). Before getting his big chop, Cruz consulted with another famous former dreadlocked Pirates star, Andrew McCutchen, who cut his trademark hairstyle before the 2015 season.
“I had it all planned before the season was over last year. The only one who knew about it was Cutch,” Cruz said. “As soon as I cut it, I called him on FaceTime. He found out right away. He said you look a lot better and more handsome.”
Cruz would love to look better against four-seam fastballs and left-handed pitching this season, given they were exposed as his greatest weaknesses last season. His batting average dropped from .357 in 2024 to .196 last year against four-seamers. Cruz hit an anemic .102 against lefties last season after batting .224 against them in 2024, so he spent much of the offseason facing southpaws in the Dominican.
“The season that I had last year, it was not my best season,” Cruz said. “I just went home, no time to relax. I went right to work. Just to work on the stuff that I was having trouble with last year and work on my body again. No time to relax. Just focus on what I need to do to get better.”
