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The Buccos had another lost season. It’s obvious the current configuration is not working. One of the culprits (of which there are many) is the perennially underachieving Oneil Cruz. The hulking 6’7” Cruz has all the talent in the world, regulary setting records for exit velocity as well as throw speed. Unfortunately, those feats of athletic prowess haven’t led to much actual success on the baseball diamond.
Aleady underachieving, Cruz got even worse this season, hitting just .200 for the year, down from .259 the year before, while his homeruns slipped from 21 to 20, and RBIs dropped from 76 to 61. He struck out 174 times and had an OPS of just .676, which was the lowest of his career. He did steal an NL-leading 38 bases, but that’s hardly a counter to dropped numbers basically across the board. He’s also been questionable at best as a centerfielder. This was from a guy many had major hopes for helping the franchise turn things around.
So our question this week is, should the Pirates look to trade Cruz in the offseason? He is due in arbitration in 2026, still has value on the open market, and the Bucs need many, many pieces. On the other hand, he’s in his athletic prime and could maybe look better with some improved lineups around him. If he’s dealt, he easily could be another in a string of Bucs to go off elsewhere and play like we always hope they would in Pittsburgh.
Cast your vote, and we’ll be back soon with the results!
