The Los Angeles Dodgers went head-to-head with former farmhand Oneil Cruz and the Pittsburgh Pirates during a three-game series at PNC Park.
Cruz first signed with the Dodgers in July 2015 as an international free agent for a $950,000 signing bonus and began his career in L.A.’s system with the Dominican Summer League Dodgers in 2016 where he had a .294 average with 23 RBI in 55 games.
During the 2017 season, he started with the High-A Great Lakes Loons, but later that year, he was traded to the Pirates in exchange for left-handed reliever Tony Watson.
During Thursday’s game between the Dodgers and Pirates, Cruz chose to depict the journey that brought him to the Majors with his cleats. One cleat showcased his Dodgers roots, and the other his Pirates present, via Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
oh my, these Oneil Cruz shoes!
paying tribute to the Dodgers for signing him as a teenager and his time with the Pirates now! pic.twitter.com/bPtbjUtQKO
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 6, 2024
While Cruz has shown that he has room to grow as a Major League player, he has also flashed a lot of potential as one of the most athletically gifted players in baseball. This year he is batting .241/.294/.410 in 56 games.
The Dodgers could certainly use Cruz in their middle infield, but the trade filled a need at the time for a club that was determined to win a World Series.
Revisiting Dodgers trade for Tony Watson in 2017
Watson was a great addition to the Dodgers’ bullpen that season and helped them on their magical 2017 postseason run. After being traded to the Dodgers, he appeared in 24 games with a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings as the team’s much needed left-handed weapon out of the bullpen.
In the postseason, Watson was just as effective with a 2.57 ERA in 11 appearances. He was part of a bullpen that dominated in the first two rounds of the playoffs, especially in the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs.
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