After being non-tendered by the Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder Bryan De La Cruz finds himself on the free agent market. The right-handed batter is an intriguing power hitter who may have hurt his marketability after largely failing once the Pirates picked him up to help boost their chances in the 2024 National League Wild Card race.
Bryan De La Cruz Free Agent Profile
Highlights and Statistics
De La Cruz, who turns 28 in December, was signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent in 2013. Oddly, he never showed himself to be much of a power-hitting prospect in the minor leagues, hitting just 32 home runs in parts of eight seasons. However, in 2021, he’d hit 12 homers at Triple-A Sugar Land by the trade deadline. That was good timing for De La Cruz. The Astros then shipped him off to the Miami Marlins for pitcher Yimi Garcia. De La Cruz finally began to develop as a power hitter. For his career, in parts of four major league seasons, he’s hit .253/.297/.407, 58 HR, 208 RBI, and 90 OPS+.
Bryan De La Cruz knew this one was gone
pic.twitter.com/CktVegxSmh
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 18, 2024
In 2023, De La Cruz reached a then-career-high of 19 home runs. By the 2024 trade deadline, he had 18 home runs, ahead of the previous year’s pace. Thus, when the Pirates acquired him to help them in the Wild Card race, it seemed like a reasonable gamble, especially with a sputtering offense and having failed to land Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a bigger trade. Alas, while Chisholm thrived on the big stage as a New York Yankee, De La Cruz was nearly invisible. With Pittsburgh, De La Cruz hit .200/.220/.294, 3 HR, 17 RBI, and a pitiable 42 OPS+ in two months. Overall, he hit .233/.271/.384, 21 HR, 68 RBI, and 77 OPS+ in 2024.
Non-Tendered by Pirates, De La Cruz Becomes Free Agent
Now arbitration-eligible and due a raise that probably won’t be commensurate with performance, the Pirates let De La Cruz go. Had the Marlins been unable to trade him, they probably wouldn’t have tendered him a contract either. Simply put, the Marlins analytics department didn’t hold De La Cruz in high regard.
Indeed, there’s plenty to send off alarms for any potential suitor. For his career, he’s struck out in 25 percent of his plate appearances and walked in just 5.8 percent. De La Cruz is not a fast runner and is a poor defender. In the outfield, he’s been “worth” -24 Fielding Runs Above Average and -14 Defensive Runs Saved. It appears that 21 home runs may be his ceiling, and it comes with plenty of swing-and-miss and bad defense.
Possible Landing Spots
Kansas City Royals
Excluding Tommy Pham, who isn’t likely to be back, five players who saw significant time in the outfield for Kansas City last year – Dairon Blanco, Garrett Hampson, Kyle Isbel, MJ Melendez, and Hunter Renfroe – combined to hit .205/.286/.375, 44 HR, and 167 RBI. They recently acquired second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Cincinnati Reds. India will help their offense, but he’s not an outfielder, and Wiemer is a .201/.259/.349 hitter in the majors.
So why would the Royals have any interest in another outfielder struggling to hit better than .200? For one, De La Cruz’s 21 home runs would have led their outfielders last year. Also, with Renfroe having exercised his $7.5 million player option, the Royals may not have room in their budget for a high-priced free-agent outfielder. They just might decide to take a flyer on De La Cruz.
Minnesota Twins
With Max Kepler and Manuel Margot set to test the free-agent market, the Twins have vacancies in the outfield. They’ve been able to fill holes from their system in the past. However, this time they may need to go outside the organization for help. Rightly or wrongly, general manager Thad Levine and manager Rocco Baldelli have had an affinity for accumulating hitters with double digits in home runs, batting average be damned. De La Cruz fits that free agent profile.
Washington Nationals
The Nats are a dark horse Wild Card contender for 2025, but more realistically are a year or two away from being a team to be reckoned with. Dylan Crews and James Wood give them two-thirds of a young outfield that should be the envy of most teams. It wouldn’t hurt to have a veteran outfielder to bring them along, especially one who adds power to the lineup. De La Cruz could be an inexpensive, short-term solution there. Washington could also flip him for prospects at the trade deadline.
Market Value and Projections
De La Cruz was expected to get around $4 million in arbitration, which surely was a factor in the Pirates moving on. His statistical trends suggest that his negatives are getting worse rather than improving. The team that gets him will hope that a change of scenery will help him. Then again, Pittsburgh was a change of scenery. Thus, what you see is what you get from De La Cruz. We’ll see whether that’s enough for his next team.
Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The post Power Hitter Hits Market After Failing During 2024 Wild Card Race appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.