On Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they will be moving Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field.
The move is one that makes sense for this franchise going forward. Cruz was moved to shortstop full-time in 2018, with the idea of maximizing his athleticism and potentially developing a star two-way player at one of the most difficult positions to fill. He remained at shortstop exclusively until 2022, when he spent 81 innings in left field.
Since his call-up to the Majors in 2022, Cruz has played all but one inning at shortstop. Out of 31 shortstops with 1500+ innings since that point, Cruz ranks sixth in errors, while playing the fourth fewest innings of that qualified group.