Oneil Cruz

Oneil Cruz (born October 4, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Oneil Cruz
Cruz with the Indianapolis Indians in 2021
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 15
Shortstop / Third baseman
Born: (1998-10-04) October 4, 1998
Nizao, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
October 2, 2021, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.333
Home runs1
Runs batted in3
Teams

Career

Cruz signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in July 2015 as an international free agent for a $950,000 signing bonus.[1] Cruz made his professional debut in 2016 with DSL Dodgers 1, batting .294 with 23 RBIs in 55 games. He began the 2017 season with the Great Lakes Loons.

On July 31, 2017, the Dodgers traded Cruz and Angel German to the Pirates in exchange for Tony Watson.[2] He was then assigned to the West Virginia Power. In 105 games between the two clubs, he slashed .237/.297/.350 with ten home runs and 44 RBIs. In 2018, he played for the West Virginia Black Bears, batting .286 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs in 103 games, earning South Atlantic League All-Star honors.[3] Cruz began 2019 with the Class A-Advanced Bradenton Marauders and was promoted to Double-A Altoona Curve on July 30.[4] He missed two months during the season after suffering a fractured foot.[5]

Cruz was added to the Pirates 40–man roster following the 2019 season.[6] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruz split the 2021 minor league season between Altoona and the Indianapolis Indians, hitting a combined .310/.375/.594/.970 with 17 home runs, 47 RBI, and 19 stolen bases.[7]

On October 2, 2021, Cruz was promoted to the active roster for the first time to make his MLB debut.[8][9]

Personal life

On September 22, 2020, Cruz was involved in a deadly vehicle crash in the Dominican Republic in which three people were killed. The accident occurred when his Jeep collided with a motorcycle carrying the three deceased that was traveling with no lights in the same direction that Cruz was traveling. Cruz survived the tragic incident.[10]

Cruz, the son of retired minor league baseball player Rafael Cruz, is unusually tall for a shortstop. He is listed as 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg). The only taller major league shortstop was 6-foot-7-inch (2.01 m) Joel Guzmán, who played nine innings for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2007. There has been three 6-foot-5-inch (1.96 m) major leaguers who started some games at shortstop: Archi Cianfrocco, Troy Glaus, and Michael Morse.[4]

References
  1. Stephen, Eric (July 2, 2015). "Dodgers sign 9 international prospects on Day 1". True Blue LA.
  2. Minami, Craig (July 31, 2017). "Dodgers acquire left-handed reliever Tony Watson from Pittsburgh for two minor leaguers". SB Nation. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. Kahn, David (August 28, 2018). "Cruz and Mitchell Tabbed as SAL Annual All Stars | Power". Milb.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  4. Dykstra, Sam (July 30, 2019). "Pirates promote Cruz to the Double-A Altoona". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  5. RotoWire Staff. "Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Suffers serious injury". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  6. Berry, Adam (November 20, 2019). "Bucs add top prospects Hayes, Cruz to 40-man". MLB.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  7. Mackey, Jason (October 1, 2021). "Sources: Pirates expected to promote Oneil Cruz for Saturday's game". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  8. Gorman, Kevin (2021-10-02). "Pirates to promote top prospect Oneil Cruz, giving fans 1st glimpse of 6-foot-7 shortstop". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  9. Crouse, Jake (October 2, 2021). "Bucs call up No. 3 prospect Oneil Cruz". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  10. Adams, Steve (September 25, 2020). "Latest On ONeil Cruz". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
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