Colleague Nathan Hursh recently provided an update on Oneil Cruz’s season in the Dominican Winter League, noting that the prized prospect was having his troubles in the field while toiling for the Gigantes del Cibao. Hursh noted that Cruz had made six errors in his first dozen games at shortstop, which led me to wonder just where we might see the imposing youngster when he finally does arrive at PNC Park.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel in November, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that generally, he likes to keep those capable of playing shortstop at that position for as long as possible “realizing at some point you want to get your best players on the field and make adjustments.