Only one player from the Pittsburgh Pirates saw action on Monday night, but it’s one of their top prospects in the system and he made his winter debut. In the Dominican, Oneil Cruz started at shortstop for Leones Escogido and had a 1-for-4 night, picking up a third inning single. He handled five chances in the field.
Cruz split the 2019 season between Bradenton and Altoona, though he missed half of the year due to two separate injuries. He made up some lost time in the Arizona Fall League, though he also missed two weeks of that season. While there, he batted .190/.306/.214 in 14 games, with 21 strikeouts. That was after hitting .298/.356/.475 in 73 games during the regular season. His only winter league experience prior to Monday night was a single pinch-hit at-bat during the 2017-18 winter for Escogido.