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padres and slugger Nelson Cruise Agreed on a one-year contract. The deal is on physical hold, but Primo Sports Group clients expect him to receive a $1 million guarantee.
If Cruz plays, it will be the 19th straight season for the veteran, who turns 43 in July. He’s been one of the most consistent sluggers in the league for a long time, but he’s coming to the end of his downseason. From 2008 through his 2021, he hit his 434th home run. This was the highest number recorded in the majors at the time. 280/.350/.536 with a wRC+ of 136 in that stretch, indicating he was 36% better than the league average at the time.
But the recent part of his career is another story. His productivity plummeted after being traded by the Twins to the Rays at the 2021 deadline. He posted just .226/.283/.442 after his wRC+ contract of 95. He tried to get back on track by signing his 1-year $15MM deal with the Nationals in 2022, but has actually fallen even further. He hit .234/.313/.337 last year and finished with wRC+ 85.
As the season drew to a close, Cruz told reporters he was going to have eye surgery because he was dealing with inflammation that was impeding his vision. Assuming the surgery is successful, he may be able to return to his previous level of production. Given that the typical age decline may also be a factor.
Sure, there’s some risk involved, but AJ Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations, seems willing to take on it. Preller has shown a penchant for giving his former Rangers hires a chance, and Cruz fits the bill. He was a Ranger from his 2006 to his 2013. If the gamble succeeds, it will add a powerful bat to the already very dangerous San Diego lineup.
Cruz has been strictly a designated hitter at this point in his career, having appeared on the field only once in the last four seasons, and this was the Rays’ seven-inning first baseman in 2021. Matt Carpenter Although he could platoon in the designated hitter role, Carpenter can also play first base and outfield, so manager Bob Melvin could have both in the lineup if he felt like it.
Financially, the Padres have pushed salaries to new heights this winter. Roster Resource calculates his spending at $250 million, which is a franchise record. Cot’s Baseball Contracts figures hit his all-time high of $211 million last year. Perhaps more importantly, in 2021 and he paid the competitiveness balance tax in 2022, the club will be the luxury taxpayer for his third season in a row. A second $253 million threshold. As his third payer in the second tax bracket, he will now be taxed at 62% on the extra spending. Once they cross his third line of $273 million, the rate jumps to 95% of his, and their top pick in the 2024 draft is 10 slots down on him.
Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital First, the two sides reportedly agreed to a one-year contract. FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported a salary of $1 million.
Image credit: USA Today Sports.
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