Baltimore Orioles extend qualifying offer to Nelson Cruz

In a widely-expected move, the Baltimore Orioles extended a $15.3 million qualifying offer to slugging outfielder Nelson Cruz Monday. The Baltimore Sun detailed his arrival in Baltimore last year after declining a qualifying offer – a move that proved to be a mistake, at least in terms of money.

"The Orioles signed Cruz, 34, to a one-year, $8 million deal in February after he declined a qualifying offer from the Texas Rangers last offseason. Cruz was coming off a 50-game suspension for his part in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs scandal, and he was unable to find the multiyear contract that he wanted."

Cruz, however, came out swinging in 2014, quickly proving that despite the suspension from the year prior, he was still an offensive force to be reckoned with. In 159 games, he slugged .525, pounding a league-leading 40 home runs, driving in 108 runs – earning his third career All-Star selection in the process.

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His season was far from consistent, though, as evidenced by his month-by-month splits. Cruz started lukewarm in April before catching fire in the month of May, when he hit 13 home runs, driving in 27 runs in 30 games – while posting a line of .339/.388/.748. However, during the middle of the season, from June to August, the right-handed power bat posted averages of just .215, .211 and .216 while combining for 15 home runs in those three months.

He turned it back on for the home stretch of the campaign as the Orioles cruised to an American League East crown, batting .346/.384/.604 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in the season’s final month. In the postseason for Baltimore, Cruz put the team on his back in the American League Division Series, batting .500 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs against the Detroit Tigers.

In the American League Championship Series, his production tailed off a bit, as he went without a long-ball against the eventual pennant-winning Kansas City Royals.

In 796 games spanning eight seasons with the Texas Rangers, Cruz hit 157 home runs and drove in 489 runs.