Pirates' Oneil Cruz benched for lack of hustle down 1st-base line

There’s no disputing that Oneil Cruz, with his Statcast-shattering swings and howitzer arm, is one of baseball’s unique talents.

But throughout his major-league career, Cruz’s elite skills have been accompanied by mental lapses and errors in the field.

Tuesday night in Milwaukee, a combination of a lack of hustle and a mental mistake by Cruz got him benched in the eighth inning.

Cruz was 0 for 4 in the 9-3 loss, and in his final-at bat, with one out in the seventh inning, he failed to sprint down the first-base line after hitting a 6-4-3 double-play ball.

Manager Don Kelly confirmed afterwards on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show that the play led to Cruz’s removal from the contest, with Alexander Canario finishing the game in center field.

“We talked, but he knows the expectation and right there, I think we fell a little short,” Kelly said.

Cruz took responsibility when speaking with reporters, saying he thought the final out of the frame had been made when third baseman Caleb Durbin, fielding Cruz’s grounder, erased Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base.

“(Kelly) had all the rights to do what he did, and I backed him up on that,” Cruz said through assistant coach and translator Stephen Morales. “It was my fault because I thought there were two outs in that situation. That’s why I let off running down to first base.”

Four days prior, June 20 at home, Cruz misplayed a routine first-inning base hit in center field against the Rangers, making no effort to retrieve the baseball while Texas ultimately scored a run on the play.

The enigma that is Oneil Cruz is one you can't predict. Even he can't decipher what he does.pic.twitter.com/bTk0GL6rM4

— UrinatingTree (@UrinatingTree) June 21, 2025

Kelly alluded to that instance Tuesday in Milwaukee, when the 26-year-old Cruz remained in the game against the Rangers, finishing 0 for 5 at the plate.

“Just the energy and effort going down the line,” Kelly said. “I think we were pretty clear the other day, and he knows the expectation going forward,” Kelly said.

Of that play at PNC Park, Cruz explained himself.

“Definitely in that situation, I knew I missed the ball,” he said through Morales. “I thought that (Adam) Frazier, because outfielders are supposed to back each other, I thought Frazier was closer to me. When I saw him, then I tried to go, he was closer to the ball already. That’s why I stayed put.”

Offensively, Cruz is navigating an elongated slump that’s dropped his batting average to .205.

In June, he is slashing .148/.247/.210, having gone only 12 for 81 with a homer, two doubles and five RBIs.

Cruz’s offensive woes date back further, as following a solid month of April, in which he batted .262, his slash line dropped to .202/.323/.417 in May.

Moving forward, Kelly is hopeful Cruz can display professionalism when it comes playing the game while working things out offensively.

“It’s hard,” Kelly said. “He’s struggling at the plate right now, and it’s difficult when you’re going through that and trying to figure it out. He’s working hard to do that, and that’s one thing that we’ve got to be mindful of, is not letting that offense carry over to defense and baserunning and the energy and effort that we’re giving in the other aspects of the game as well.”

For his part, Cruz pushed back on the notion that his offensive struggles are hanging over him in the field and on the bases.

“I don’t see it as frustrations,” Cruz said. “I see it as part of the game. Everybody goes through ups and downs, and you just have to confront them and be better.”

Cruz and the Pirates remain convinced he can build upon a promising 2024 season in which he hit .259 with 21 home runs and 76 RBIs in his first full big-league campaign.

Defensively, as Cruz further settles into being an everyday center fielder, his fielding percentage through 584 2/3 innings (.960) ranks slightly below what he managed at the position (.964) last year over 195 frames.

But both represent an improvement to Cruz’s defense at shortstop. Leading into last August’s position change to center, he made 24 errors and had a .939 fielding percentage as a middle infielder.

Entering Wednesday’s series finale at the Brewers, Cruz leads the Pirates in home runs (13) and walks (42) and is tied for second in doubles (10) while ranking near the top in most other major statistical categories.