'Now's the time that he's going to help us': Pirates call up top prospect in SS Oneil Cruz

The Pittsburgh Pirates are making the much-anticipated promotion their fans have been awaiting by calling up Oneil Cruz, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound shortstop who is their No. 1 prospect.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed after Sunday’s 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants that Cruz and outfielder Bligh Madris will be promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis in time for the four-game series against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park this week.

“Now’s the time that we think he can help us,” Shelton said of Cruz, 23, ranked one of baseball’s top 25 prospects. “We’ve talked about a lot of things developmentally. There’s still things we’re going to continue to work on, but we think now’s the time that he’s going to help us.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton discusses the decision to promote their top prospect, SS Oneil Cruz. pic.twitter.com/0LsoMvX3xL

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) June 19, 2022

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington hinted on his radio show before the game the possibility that Cruz could join the club during the final four games of this homestand.

“There’s a chance, sure,” Cherington said Sunday on 93.7 FM. “We’ll have to see what happens.”

Fans have been clamoring for Cruz to be called up during the seven-game homestand. Instead, 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, a “bright part of our future” but also said this is “an important year for him to develop in Double-A.”

Speculation increased about Cruz when he wasn’t in the Indianapolis starting lineup Sunday at Gwinnett, Ga.

“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 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.”

Added Shelton: “He’s predominantly going to play shortstop. We’ll see him probably in the outfield at some point, but I think initially he’s going to play shortstop.”

The Pirates have a need for a fourth outfielder after Canaan Smith-Njigba was placed on the 60-day injured list Friday with a fractured right wrist, so they turned to the 26-year-old Madris. Shelton said corresponding roster moves likely will be made Monday morning.

A ninth-round draft pick out of Colorado Mesa in 2017, the 6-foot, 208-pounder, who bats left, followed a strong spring training by hitting .304/.385/.519 with 15 doubles, two triples, five homers and 20 RBIs in 46 games at Indianapolis this season.

“He’s done a lot of things well,” Shelton said. “If you look back, even going to coming out of spring training, arguably if we would have been in a different spot, he might have made our club then. He’s been really good over the last month. He can play both corner outfield spots. He’s continued to do a lot of things well, and it’s at the time where he deserves to be called up. So I think it’s a culmination of where he was in spring training and then what he’s done over the last three weeks.”