PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have drawn trade interest on several players ahead of the deadline, including their top power hitter of 2025.
According to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, center fielder Oneil Cruz has received inquiries from multiple teams across Major League Baseball. While the Pirates aren’t actively shopping Cruz, they have listened to offers. No specific teams have been linked to those discussions so far.
Cruz, who is making $785,000 this season—just above the MLB minimum—is in his final pre-arbitration year. He’s under team control through 2028, making him a valuable and cost-effective asset for clubs looking for a high-upside outfielder.
In 91 games this season, Cruz is hitting .219 with a .319 on-base percentage and a .419 slugging percentage (.738 OPS). He’s tallied 72 hits in 329 at-bats, including 14 doubles, two triples, a team-leading 16 home runs, and 40 RBIs. He’s also walked 48 times, struck out 123, and currently leads MLB with 33 stolen bases on 37 attempts.
Cruz has delivered some electric moments in 2025. He crushed a 122.9 mph home run into the Allegheny River off Brewers starter Logan Henderson — the hardest-hit homer in the Statcast era (since 2015). He also fired a 105.2 mph throw from center field to nab J.P. Crawford at home plate on July 6, tying the hardest throw by a Pirates outfielder in Statcast history.
He made history again in the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park, launching 34 total homers — the most by a Pirates participant and enough to reach the second round for the first time in franchise history. His longest homer traveled 513 feet, tied for fourth-longest in Derby history (excluding Denver’s altitude-assisted event in 2021).
However, Cruz has also had his struggles. On June 20 vs. Texas, he misplayed a ball that rolled to the center field wall, and days later, was benched after jogging out a potential double play in Milwaukee.
Acquired from the Dodgers in 2017 in exchange for reliever Tony Watson, Cruz debuted in 2021 and posted a 17-homer rookie campaign in 2022. A fractured fibula in April 2023 sidelined him for the rest of that year, but he returned in 2024, hitting .259 with 21 homers and 22 steals over 146 games. Late last season, Pittsburgh transitioned him from shortstop to center field.
In addition to Cruz, the Pirates have also received interest in several other core players, including starters Mitch Keller and Dennis Santana, reliever David Bednar, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, and outfielder Bryan Reynolds.
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