Baltimore Orioles sign Nelson Cruz
(Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)
The Baltimore Orioles continue to add to their roster – and payroll – with the reported deal between free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz. It appears that ESPN’s Enrique Rojas had the jump on this. The deal is for only one year and $8MM. Cruz can earn another $750k in incentives.
And yes, there was this…
Cruz deal with #Orioles still pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 22, 2014
Of course there’s a physical pending, as there should be. With the news that has emerged about players failing the O’s physical, it has become almost a sideshow at this point. Yes, I’m piling on and participating here. But I’m not the only one…
Then again, Nelson Cruz hasn't taken a physical yet.
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) February 22, 2014
With the Cruz deal, the Orioles payroll could be around $105MM according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. That would be the highest in club history.
So how did the Seattle Mariners lose out on Cruz? Seems Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has that answer.
source says #mariners won't say aloud but were concerned about ballpark switch, PED effect w/ cruz. they like morales more
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 22, 2014
And this…
Cruz for 1/8 is fascinating. Had heard in December that he just didn't want to play in Seattle. This seems to support that.
— Dave Cameron (@OneDaveCameron) February 22, 2014
It all makes sense now.
But here’s another tweet from John Shea that had my eyeballs bulging a little…
So let's get this straight. Peter Angelos is quick to nix deals because of a "failed physical" but is OK signing someone suspended for PEDs?
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) February 22, 2014
Toward the end of last season, Cruz served a 50-game suspension for his tie-in with Biogenesis. Recall the St. Louis Cardinals received some criticism regarding their deal with Johnny Peralta, another player that served a 50-game suspension for Biogenesis.
But these deals are not even comparable. Peralta inked a multi-year deal with the Cards, while Cruz appears to be settling for only one year with the O’s. A semi-Melky Cabrera situation for Cruz if you will. I do understand the prevailing thought that Shea tweets, though.
This O’s lineup could pack some punch. The 3-4-5 spots, per MLB Depth Charts, would be Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Cruz. That should easily be 100 HR given the HR rate at Camden Yards (per Fangraphs), right?
That one year could prove to be beneficial to Cruz despite being 33 years old (will turn 34 in early July). If he can bear resemblance to the pre-Biogenesis Nelson Cruz, then the Orioles will have not only made a shrewd deal. Cruz, in the long run, could have re-established his offensive value.