ALTOONA — Before Tuesday’s game against the Somerset Patriots, Oneil Cruz looked like a full participant in Class AA Altoona’s pregame workouts.
The Pirates’ No. 1 prospect according to Baseball America began at shortstop, taking ground balls while his teammates held batting practice. Then he stepped into the cage and took some cuts for himself. And, boy, were they some mighty hacks. One of his swings produced a home run that bounced off either the McDonald’s sign far beyond right-center field or something else metallic, making a “dong” sound like the tolling of a bell.
Then, in the bottom of the first inning, Cruz put on a batting helmet, trotted onto the field and manned his position in foul ground as the Curve’s first base coach.
As good as he looked, he is still on the injured list with a right forearm strain that has held him out since the end of June. The organization’s No. 6 prospect, right-hander Roansy Contreras, has been out for nearly the exact same time period with the same injury, a right forearm strain.
Altoona manager Miguel Perez says both are close to a return. Cruz, though, is much closer.
“He’s very close. He’s very, very close,” Perez said. “I’m pretty sure he’s closer than Roansy is. He’s almost there. We’ve got to check a couple things. He hasn’t been playing in five-plus weeks. We’re just getting him there. You might see him soon.”
Altoona is home for the next two weeks. Perez said he “would think” Cruz will be back sometime during that time frame. You could argue that the two of them are the Curve’s best players, and they could certainly use them as soon as possible.
That may be especially true for Contreras. The team has lost five of its last seven games and allowed six runs or more in all but one of them. Just five of their active pitchers have an ERA below 4.50, and two of them are starters. Part of their early-season success depended on Contreras taking the Tuesday start, locking down the opponent and securing a win. That isn’t a reality anymore.
Contreras threw a bullpen session when the team was in Erie last week, so he is very close to a return. As of right now, Perez says they aren’t sure whether Contreras will be sent to Low-A Bradenton or High-A Greensboro to make a rehab start or if he’ll just begin in-game action with Altoona, but the time for that is nearing.
“As of right now, they’re talking about it,” Perez said. “There are multiple cases, but just right now, we’re just focused on getting him back and be sure where would be the best partner to start his rehab.”
Bae tries the outfield
Another change for Altoona recently has been a position change for infielder Ji-Hwan Bae. After spending almost the entire season manning second base, Bae trotted out to center field Tuesday, playing there for the fourth game all season.
Part of the reason could be some of Altoona’s more recent arrivals. The Pirates acquired infielder Diego Castillo from the New York Yankees at the deadline. He plays second base mainly, and was slotted there Tuesday. Of course, Bae’s presence in center also pushed an outfielder out of the defensive alignment. In this case, it was Matt Fraizer, the outfielder who was recently bumped up from High-A Greensboro and has been dominating offensively all season. He still led off for Altoona but was the designated hitter for the game.
It’s a balancing act for Perez to find playing time for all the players right now. There’s a ton of talent on the offensive side. For Bae’s part, though, he’s taken kindly to the position experimentation in the outfield.
“He’s been great. He’s embraced the opportunity to play over there, which is adding some more value for him,” Perez said. “As you know, he’s going to hit. He can hit. Obviously, he’s working on a lot of things right now, but I would say he’s going to be one of those guys who’s going to impact the game at the higher level, his bat is going to do it, so why not put him at multiple positions that he can actually be more impactful and valuable for the team? His reaction has been great. He’s been working hard in both places. He’s actually good with it.”
Bae says he’s mostly happy to be back in the lineup after a scary leg injury turned out to be a simpler sprain. He was held out for several weeks in June but has been back now for a while. His average has dropped a bit recently, down to .256 for the year, but he still maintains a solid .733 OPS and has actually found a power stroke of late.
He had no homers prior to his injury. Since, he’s hit five in Altoona and another in the Florida Complex League, during his rehab assignment.
“Through the rehab, I focused on strengthening my body in general,” Bae said through translator Jung-Hoon Na. “I did that work, and it’s actually working for me.
“... I always used to think of myself as a leadoff guy and not a power hitter guy. Being able to hit the ball a little out front makes me able to do the stuff that I’m doing right now.”
Altoona will take both that and his newfound positional flexibility as the 22-year-old continues to refine his game this season.
Mike Persak: mpersak@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDPersak
First Published: August 18, 2021, 4:22 p.m.
