From pregame press conference – Derek Shelton announced during his pregame presser that Oneil Cruz will start seeing time in center field.
Derek Shelton announced during his pregame presser that Oneil Cruz will start seeing time in center field.
Per Alex Stumpf, IKF will play primarily at short and Nick Gonzalez will be at second.
Why
I don’t know about this one… Prove me wrong, but I just don’t have a great feeling. And that’s fine. Let’s try it I guess.
Like Gregory Polanco but with even more baby deer
Good, probably going to lead to a bunch of mistakes the rest of this year but there’s no reason to not try it at this point. It was frustrating watching runners be able to get an extra base because Bae has such a weak arm.
I’d much rather see him as a corner OF. His fly ball reads are really bad.
Much needed. Sorry, he’s not a short stop. He can’t field and he can’t consistently make the routine throws. Centerfield allows him to use his size and athleticism better, and it doesn’t devalue his bat since it’s also a premium defensive position.
I’m actually all for them trying this. Cruz absolutely has the speed and athleticism to track down balls in the OF. I also think his throwing issues will be lessened in CF, simply because arm talent is less important in CF and he’ll have more time to make a play compared to SS.
I am very skeptical it works (I think it will probably end up Polanco 2.0) but it’s a no brainer to try it out. He absolutely has the speed and athleticism for it.
Dude has one of the fastest sprint speeds, strongest arms, and already loves running down the ball. This is a great decision.
Keeps his bat, still gives him a marquee spot on the field and we don’t have a truly ready replacement
He’s fast as hell, has an absolute cannon, and we have a zillion short stops and middle infielders and zero legitimate CF prospects. Definitely worth a test drive for 6 weeks.
I like Cruz at SS, but if you’re gonna move him you absolutely have to try CF first
Imo SS > CF >>> RF >>>>>>>>>>> 1B >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DH
This is the right move. He’s too fast with too good of an arm to keep at short. And he’s not like Polanco who’s just big, he’s big and extremely athletic, not awkward at all. Takes CF off of our list for the off-season and lets us go with a rotation of IKF, Nick G, Billy Cook, and Hayes for the infield. All we’ll need is a true first baseman, DH, and some relief pitching.
I mean…sure, why not? I think this is likely to be an abject disaster for a while trying to do it in the middle of a season but he’s one of the most talented athletes any of us have ever seen. At the very least, the chances that he’s worse than Bae are slim.
I was thinking RF, where he would lead the MLB in outfield assists. Becoming a master of playing the ball off the wall and keeping lots of runners at 1b.
But if he can cover the ground and handle the reads and angles, being able to put him in CF would be a huge unexpected bonus. Let’s try him out now and see what we got!
Cruz to center. Reynolds to first. Rowdy to the bullpen. What a weird season.
This should be good…
This is the correct move by pirates management and I applaud them for it. Use his speed and arm in a way that doesn’t hurt the team (hopefully)
17 comments
From pregame press conference – Derek Shelton announced during his pregame presser that Oneil Cruz will start seeing time in center field.
Derek Shelton announced during his pregame presser that Oneil Cruz will start seeing time in center field.
Per Alex Stumpf, IKF will play primarily at short and Nick Gonzalez will be at second.
Why
I don’t know about this one… Prove me wrong, but I just don’t have a great feeling. And that’s fine. Let’s try it I guess.
Like Gregory Polanco but with even more baby deer
Good, probably going to lead to a bunch of mistakes the rest of this year but there’s no reason to not try it at this point. It was frustrating watching runners be able to get an extra base because Bae has such a weak arm.
I’d much rather see him as a corner OF. His fly ball reads are really bad.
Much needed. Sorry, he’s not a short stop. He can’t field and he can’t consistently make the routine throws. Centerfield allows him to use his size and athleticism better, and it doesn’t devalue his bat since it’s also a premium defensive position.
I’m actually all for them trying this. Cruz absolutely has the speed and athleticism to track down balls in the OF. I also think his throwing issues will be lessened in CF, simply because arm talent is less important in CF and he’ll have more time to make a play compared to SS.
I am very skeptical it works (I think it will probably end up Polanco 2.0) but it’s a no brainer to try it out. He absolutely has the speed and athleticism for it.
Dude has one of the fastest sprint speeds, strongest arms, and already loves running down the ball. This is a great decision.
Keeps his bat, still gives him a marquee spot on the field and we don’t have a truly ready replacement
He’s fast as hell, has an absolute cannon, and we have a zillion short stops and middle infielders and zero legitimate CF prospects. Definitely worth a test drive for 6 weeks.
I like Cruz at SS, but if you’re gonna move him you absolutely have to try CF first
Imo SS > CF >>> RF >>>>>>>>>>> 1B >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DH
This is the right move. He’s too fast with too good of an arm to keep at short. And he’s not like Polanco who’s just big, he’s big and extremely athletic, not awkward at all. Takes CF off of our list for the off-season and lets us go with a rotation of IKF, Nick G, Billy Cook, and Hayes for the infield. All we’ll need is a true first baseman, DH, and some relief pitching.
I mean…sure, why not? I think this is likely to be an abject disaster for a while trying to do it in the middle of a season but he’s one of the most talented athletes any of us have ever seen. At the very least, the chances that he’s worse than Bae are slim.
I was thinking RF, where he would lead the MLB in outfield assists. Becoming a master of playing the ball off the wall and keeping lots of runners at 1b.
But if he can cover the ground and handle the reads and angles, being able to put him in CF would be a huge unexpected bonus. Let’s try him out now and see what we got!
Cruz to center.
Reynolds to first.
Rowdy to the bullpen.
What a weird season.
This should be good…
This is the correct move by pirates management and I applaud them for it. Use his speed and arm in a way that doesn’t hurt the team (hopefully)