Pittsburgh coach's confidence in sending him to cruise outfield as "with excellent athletic ability"

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who made a critical decision at the end of the season, explained the difficult decision.

Shelton said in an interview ahead of the home game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 27th (Korea time), "It's never a light decision," about the decision to move the team's main shortstop O'Neill Cruz to center field.

Standing 2 meters and 1 centimeter tall, Cruz has shown good performance at the plate, but he has expressed regret at shortstop defense. His defensive ability has been constantly questioned, but he has finally decided to move.

Shelton said, "Cruise has incredible athletic ability. And I felt it was best for him and for the team. I thought it was important to give him hands-on experience for the next season." At this time of year, he explained why he made this decision.

This was Cruz's first full season as the team's main shortstop. Originally, it was supposed to be a full season last year, but the plan was delayed when he suffered a serious ankle fracture at the beginning of the season. It is also seen that he intends to ease the burden of shortstop defense on him, who has an injury history.

Shelton said, "A number of factors have affected it," but admitted that his injury history had affected him, saying, "Playing on the dirt puts him under a lot of stress. It's very difficult."

"The shortstop is a difficult position," he continued. "I want to give Cruise some freedom. He had outstanding athletic ability. We have seen center field have a great influence on the game. I look forward to seeing him play center field."

The coach expressed expectations, but the player seems to be more disappointed than expected.

When asked how he reacted when he first broke the news, Shelton replied, "Of course, I was disappointed. Shortstop players want to keep playing. So do he."

"Cruise is a good teammate, and he wants to win. That's the most important thing," he said, adding that he accepted the offer to win the team.

There are several players in the team who have experienced center field defense. They could help Cruz. Andrew McCutchen, once the team's main center fielder, is a prime example.

"While talking with McCutchen about his rehabilitation plan, he also talked about Cruz's change of position. He has a lot of experience as an elite center fielder for a long time in this stadium, and he's like a leader in the team, so I think I can talk to Cruz," Shelton said. "I asked McCutchen for help."

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa will take over the shortstop position that Cruise saw. Kiner-Falefa had previously played shortstop when Cruise was taking a break.

When asked if recruiting Kiner-Falefa was related to Cruz's change of position, Shelton corrected the relationship by saying, "I won't say this is the reason for recruiting Kiner-Falefa. Once I recruited him, I thought about what would be the best choice for the team."

You can see many cases where he transformed into an outfielder while playing shortstop and built a successful career. One of the cases where he successfully transformed from shortstop to center fielder is Robin Yonte, a Hall of Famer.

Shelton said, "I don't know if players nowadays use Jon T as an example. But the important thing is that you need to have good athletic ability to play shortstop in the Major League, and you also need to have good athletic ability to play center field in the Big League. His outstanding athletic ability suggests that he can work in center field as well."

Later in the press conference, general manager Ben Cherrington said he had been watching Cruz for over five years since he was a prospect and explained, "Cruise has worked really hard to be the best shortstop possible. It is really difficult for a player of such a large build to play shortstop. He has been doing much more difficult things compared to other players and has been working hard on them. We have gathered enough information for a clearer decision and believe that this is the best option for the player and the team."

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