PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oneil Cruz untucked the No. 15 jersey hugging the shoulders of his wiry 6-foot-7 inch frame, turned his hat backward then flashed a smile that needed no translation.
One of the biggest pieces — literally and metaphorically — of the revival that Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has methodically orchestrated since taking over in November 2019 looked every bit as good as advertised in his 2022 debut.
The hardest throw by any major league infielder this season. The hardest-hit ball and the fastest sprint around the bases by a Pirate through 66 games, too, a madcap dash that drove in three runs and ended with Cruz practically cackling as he made his way from second to third.
The fact he was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple hardly mattered. By then, the 23-year-old was trending on Twitter as shouts of “Cruuuuuz” reverberated in a ballpark that’s frequently resembled a library at closing time for most of the last half-decade.
Those days may be numbered, even if the finished product Cherington is tasked with delivering in Pittsburgh remains a ways off.
The Pirates are well under .500 weeks before the All-Star break and struggle to get PNC Park a third filled most nights. Many of the prospects Cherington has drafted or acquired during his 30-month tenure — some of them in trades that sent popular and proven veterans elsewhere in moves that angered and alienated a fanbase desperate for something or someone to believe in — are still in the minors.
Some, however, are seemingly here to stay. Cruz is wearing No. 15 now, unlike last fall, when he donned No. 61 during a brief two-game cameo last fall. Add that to signing third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year extension and the unexpected jolt provided by outfielder Jack…