Bryan De La Cruz is getting another major league shot, this time with the Phillies.
Philadelphia signed the former Pirates outfielder to a major league contract for the rest of the 2026 season after last night’s game against the Kansas City Royals, then optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To clear space on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated right-handed pitcher Jean Cabrera for assignment.
De La Cruz has spent the entire year in the minors with Lehigh Valley, where he posted a .254/.345/.426 line with a 102 wRC+ before exercising an opt-out in his deal. The Phillies are bringing him back because they need help, not because he forced the issue with a huge season. Adolis García is out for the year after going down in June, and Philadelphia has been one of the league’s weakest teams against left-handed pitching.
That part matters for De La Cruz, who has a career .267 average against southpaws. In the majors, though, he’s been mostly neutral by split.
For Pirates fans, the name still carries plenty of baggage. Pittsburgh acquired De La Cruz at the 2024 trade deadline from Miami, sending Jun-Seok Shim and Garret Forrester the other way. At the time, he looked like a sensible add: a 27-year-old right-handed bat who had already launched 18 homers in 105 games with the Marlins.
The fit never came close to working. De La Cruz hit .200/.220/.294 for the Pirates and struck out 31% of the time, while giving the club negative value on both sides of the ball. Pittsburgh moved on quickly, non-tendering him after just half a season even though he still had three years of arbitration left.
Since leaving Pittsburgh, he has bounced around the minors with different organizations and also had a short, strikeout-heavy run with Atlanta. Now he gets another chance to stick in the big leagues.
Whether that chance turns into anything is still an open question. But from the Pirates’ side, the bigger story may be the contrast.
De La Cruz was one of the most disappointing deadline pickups of the Ben Cherington era, and by WAR he was literally the worst player moved at that 2024 deadline. The good news for Pittsburgh is that the outfield looks nothing like it did then.
This year, Pirates outfielders rank fifth in baseball with 6.1 fWAR, a major jump from the 2024 group’s minus-0.4, which ranked 28th.
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Washingtons place in the playoff race is what makes this one tricky. The Nationals have reason to keep listening but no obvious reason to move a pitcher who has helped them this season, and Pittsburghs search for bullpen reinforcements could still lead them toward a closer or another late-inning option instead of a more versatile arm. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Injury Picture Just Got More Urgent Before Second Half
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Wilber Dotel is still working through his own recovery from a lat strain and is set for another minor-league rehab appearance as part of that process. The bigger concern, though, is Endy Rodrguez, who left a recent game with left side discomfort and remains under evaluation, adding another layer of uncertainty to a roster that could use a cleaner bill of health once the schedule flips. [Read more 🡒]