This is a big offseason for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was also a chance for MLB's contract structuring to show itself quite plainly.
Oneil Cruz will be paid $3.3 million to play for the Pirates in 2026, according to insider Robert Murray. That agreement was reached Thursday to avoid salary arbitration.
Cruz, one of the toolsiest players in baseball, would earn much more on the open market. But since arbitration would pay a player of Cruz's service time a similar number, he had to settle for a deal that works out as a bargain for the Pirates.
The vibes are better than they've been in Pittsburgh for a while, though.
They traded this offseason already for Brandon Lowe, Jhostynxon Garcia and Jake Mangum. They also signed Ryan O'Hearn in free agency.
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Cruz wasn't going anywhere. Either he was getting a contract like this, or he was getting one in arbitration.
But it just starts to emphasize that the Pirates can put a really solid lineup together.
Cruz batted just.200 in 2025, but he hit 20 home runs and stole 38 bases. If he can piece together just a bit more consistency at the plate, he can be a monster.
At 27 years old, Cruz is approaching the portion of his career where he could conceptually start to discover what his peak is.
These next few seasons would be a great timing for the Pirates to get peak production out of Cruz. They're actually starting to be set up to compete.
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