The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped a bombshell Monday afternoon by revealing Oneil Cruz will be moving from shortstop to center field, a position switch that could be permanent.

It’s an eyebrow-raising move for the 6-foot-7 Cruz, the tallest starting shortstop in major-league history. But the Pirates believe moving the 25-year-old now could benefit him and the team in the future, and they informed him of their plans after Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.

“I think, as of right now, we’re looking at him as a center fielder,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said before Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. “Organizationally right now, we feel that (center field) is the best position for him. In talking about it — and we did not take this decision lightly — it wasn’t something that we just decided over the course of a night we’re going to do. We had conversations about it, but we felt that right now center field was the best position for him.”

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said “there’s no magic” about the way the Pirates informed Cruz after Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park, deciding to make the move during the season so they could get some feedback.

“Once we got to it, it was about, ‘OK, do we pull the Band-Aid now and start this process now or kick it to the offseason?’ We just felt, decided, got a lot of input on it. We felt like, ‘You know what? Best to do it now. It’s clear to us, do it now. Let’s start this process.’ ”

In the interim, the Pirates plan to play Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop with Alika Williams as a backup option. Kiner-Falefa, acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at the July 30 trade deadline, has 320 career starts at shortstop over six major-league seasons. He won an AL Gold Glove at third base for the Texas Rangers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Cruz, who was not available for comment, has been adamant about his preference to play on the infield dirt, where he has started 195 career games in the major leagues. He missed all but nine games last season with a fractured left ankle that required surgery.

But Cruz has committed 42 errors at shortstop, including 24 (12 throwing, 12 fielding) in 958 1/3 innings this season. That ranks as the second most in all of baseball, and his minus-8 defensive runs saved is fourth worst among shortstops. Half of Cruz’s errors have come since July 21, when he ended a 16-game errorless stretch by making two against the Philadelphia Phillies and had a three-error game at Houston on July 31.

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“I see myself as a shortstop. That’s the position I’ve played all my life,” Cruz told TribLive through translator Stephen Morales on Aug. 17. “I feel like I’ve been improving a lot at the position. I don’t really listen to people that say they want me to move to the outfield. There’s nothing on my mind right now that takes me to the outfield. I’m just preparing myself to play shortstop on a daily basis.”

Cherington said Cruz was “disappointed” in the decision but “professional” in accepting the position switch, given his preference for playing shortstop. The Pirates had Cruz take fly balls in center Monday afternoon and plan to use him as designated hitter while he makes the transition to the outfield.

“I think he put his life into it,” Cherington said. “It has been part of his identity as a baseball player from a young age, and he’s worked really hard at it. He’s talked openly about how important that was to him. Really respect that. You are not going to feel that way, even if we feel it makes sense, a player is not going to feel that way and then in one conversation feel differently.”

Added Shelton: “Anybody who plays shortstop wants to play shortstop. That’s how it is. But I think the one thing we know about Oneil Cruz is he’s an unbelievable athlete, he’s a really good teammate and he wants to win. I think that’s the most important part.”

Cruz has played only one inning in the outfield in the majors, which came in left field as a rookie in 2022. His only time in center came when he played six innings there over two Grapefruit League games at spring training in 2021. Cruz played 11 innings in left field the following spring, then played 80 innings in left field over 10 games (nine starts) for Triple-A Indianapolis in 2022.

“He acted like he did not want to be out there. It was embarrassing,” a talent evaluator who saw Cruz in the outfield at Indianapolis told TribLive. “If he’s not going to buy into it, what are you going to do? I think you’re hurting yourself more.”

The Pirates are hoping that taking the defensive burden of playing shortstop will help Cruz on the offensive side, where he is batting .265/.324/.468. He leads the Pirates in doubles (29), stolen bases (17) and strikeouts (151), is tied for most triples (three) and ranks second with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs in 117 games this season.

Shelton called Cruz a “dynamic athlete” blessed with size, speed and one of baseball’s best arms, and believes his athleticism and ability to cover ground will allow him to thrive in center field.

“We’re talking about a kid who can move at a rate that not many people can move at,” Shelton said. “It’s going to be a transition. It’s going to be one of those things where there will be adjustments to it. We realize that, but we think it’s going to make us better. …

“Shortstop is a challenging position. I think we’re going to see some freedom out of him. The largest component of this is we’re taking a kid that’s an elite athlete and putting him in the middle of the field. We’ve seen how center fielders can impact the game. You can impact the game from center field. I’m excited to see that. I’m excited to watch him do those things.”

Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.

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