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OMAR CRUZ
- Position(s): Left-handed pitcher
- Bats / Throws: Left / Left
- 2024 opening day age: 26
- Height / Weight: 6-foot / 210 pounds
- How acquired: Minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December 2023 (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Contract status: Has yet to make MLB debut
- fWAR in 2024: N/A
- Key 2024 stats (minors): 6-2, 3.96 ERA, 2 saves, 3 holds, 118 strikeouts, 36 walks, 1.22 WHIP, .216 opponent average, 86⅓ innings (34 games, 7 starts)
STAT TO NOTE
- 7.19 — The number of hits per nine innings that Cruz allowed between stops at Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso, a career high. Cruz’s strikeout rate (12.30 per nine innings) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.28) were also the second-best rates of his career.
TRENDING
- Up — The minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft offered Cruz another opportunity with the Padres as the Pirates left him unprotected after he allowed a 3.94 ERA over 48 innings in 2023 at Double-A Altoona. The Padres originally purchased Cruz’s rights from Mexico City in July 2017 for $100,000 and included him in the package that landed Joe Musgrove before the 2021 season. To that point, Cruz hadn’t progressed past high Single-A, although he’d kept his ERA below 3.00 in short samples through his first two years in the Padres’ system. Cruz made 21 starts in 2021 (3.44 ERA) but pitched more in the bullpen while seeing his ERA rise to 5.03 over 62⅔ innings the following year. He improved in 2023 but not enough for the Pirates to make room on either their 40-man or Triple-A rosters, allowing the Padres to reintroduce him to the system. Cruz started the season at Double-A San Antonio (3.59 ERA, 47 ⅔ innings) and was promoted to Triple-A El Paso in July, where he finished with a respectable mark (4.42) for the hitter-friendly circuit. The strikeout rate was better in the Texas League (13.2 per nine innings) than in the Pacific Coast League (11.2), too, but that didn’t keep the Padres front office from discussing Cruz as a potential call-up. While that did not happen in September, the Padres added Cruz to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
2025 OUTLOOK
- Ranked No. 28 among Padres prospects by MLB.com, Cruz pairs a 91-94 mph fastball with a change-up and two breaking balls. He’ll enter the season with all three minor league options available, so he should make his MLB debut at some point in 2025 even if he doesn’t win an opening day job as a multi-inning relief option.
Roster rankings
- 28. OF Brandon Lockridge
- 29. LHP Tom Cosgrove
- 30. RHP Stephen Kolek
- 31. RHP Juan Nuñez
- 32. C Brett Sullivan
- 33. UT Tyler Wade
- 34. LHP Wandy Peralta
Originally Published:
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