Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington didn’t rule out the possibility that shortstop Oneil Cruz, the club’s top prospect, could be promoted to the majors during the final four games of this homestand.
“There’s a chance, sure,” Cherington said Sunday on his radio show on 93.7 The Fan. “We’ll have to see what happens.”
Fans have been clamoring for Cruz to be called up during the seven-game homestand. Speculation increased when Cruz wasn’t in the starting lineup for Triple-A Indianapolis at Gwinnett, Ga., on Sunday afternoon.
“This is a case where development is going to continue, no matter what level you’re at, including the major leagues,” Cherington said. “A player doesn’t have to be perfect or finished to be called up. … We think Oneil is really close —really, really close.”
Cruz has a .233/.337/.424 slash line with seven doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 35 RBIs in 54 games at Indy this season. In 13 games this month, he’s slashing .283/.364/500 with two doubles, one triple, two homers and eight RBIs.
Although the 6-foot-7, 220-pound Cruz prefers to play shortstop, he has played in the outfield at times this season. Cherington said the decision where to play him will be up to manager Derek Shelton and his staff.
“We believe he’s a shortstop,” Cherington said. “We added outfield to give him another arrow in his quiver.”
When infielder/outfielder Tucupita Marcano was placed on the covid-19 injured list Friday, the Pirates opted for shortstop Liover Peguero from Double-A Altoona. Cherington cited the timing of learning of Marcano’s unavailability, just five hours before first pitch, and the proximity of Altoona being within driving distance to PNC Park.
Cherington called Peguero, who made his major league debut Saturday in a 7-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants, a “bright part of our future” but also said this is “an important year for him to develop in Double-A.”
Cherington emphasized that he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on one player, even if Cruz is ranked a top-25 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
“He’s a really important young player,” Cherington said. “I’m looking forward to the time where we’re talking about his play and his improvement and less about his time in Indy.”
