Seattle Mariners: Nelson Cruz wins 2017 Silver Slugger at DH
Seattle Mariners Nelson Cruz won the 2017 Silver Slugger Award for the DH position, making him only the second Mariner player to do so.
There were more home runs hit in a season than ever before this year, and Seattle Mariners DH Nelson Cruz launched 39 of them. Those homers and another excellent hitting season overall earned Cruz the 2017 Silver Slugger award for the DH position. Now, this the second Silver Slugger for Cruz in his career. In 2015, he won it as an outfielder.
The 36-year-old Cruz hit .288/.375/.549 and had a career-high 119 RBI. Based on wRC+, which measures a player’s offensive production after adjusting for league and ballpark, Cruz was the 10th-best hitter in baseball.
He didn’t provide much value with his glove or baserunning ability but was an excellent hitter. The bat was kind enough to earn him a spot on the All-Star team this year, and he used the opportunity to take the first-ever batter/umpire selfie in an All-Star Game.
There were only three legitimate options for the Silver Slugger at DH. Cruz is the well-deserved pick over Tampa Bays’ Corey Dickerson and Cleveland’s Edwin Encarnacion.
He led all DHs in home runs, RBI, batting average and slugging percentage. His bat helped the Mariners finish fourth in the AL with a 102 wRC+. The three teams above the Mariners were the Astros, Yankees, and Indians, all of whom made the playoffs.
BOOM.
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) November 9, 2017
Congratulations, @ncboomstick23—winner of the 2017 Silver Slugger at DH! pic.twitter.com/UaWzar48Bg
Cruz has had an interesting career. He was considered a 4A guy early in his career when he crushed the ball in Triple-A, but couldn’t establish himself in his first couple of attempts in the big leagues. He didn’t get 500 plate appearances in a season until he was 28 years old. When he first hit free agency before the 2014 season, Fangraphs called him the biggest land mine of the 2014 free agent class.
Tainted Love
Cruz was about to be 33 years old and had a PED suspension and lingering health concerns. This was the warning from the article: “Of all the free agents who are likely to get significant contracts this winter, Cruz looks like the most likely to just turn into a replacement level scrub overnight.” A follow-up article claimed, “Cruz is a mediocrity on the verge of getting paid like a guy who matters.”
It turned out Cruz did not sign a lucrative, long-term deal. He signed with the Orioles on a one-year, $8 million contract. Then he hit .271/.333/.525, with 40 homers and 108 RBI and was back on the market as a free agent.
Fangraphs was not impressed. A different writer analyzed the four-year, $57 million contract Cruz signed with the Mariners and judged it to be a significant overpay. Cruz was projected to be around a 2 WAR player whose value would decrease as he aged into his mid-30s.
With the cost of a win on the free agent market factored in, it looked like Cruz would be paid $57 million but only provide $30 million in value (actually $20 to $40 million depending on various assumptions).
The projections were wrong. Cruz did not turn into a “replacement level scrub” overnight. By Fangraphs WAR, Cruz has been the 24th-most valuable player in baseball. If you considered just his offensive production, Cruz has been the sixth-best hitter in baseball during his time in Seattle (150 wRC+). To say that Cruz was a steal for Seattle is an understatement.
Into the Twilight of his career
In the first three years of his four-year deal, Cruz averaged 4.3 WAR per season and provided the Mariners with $102.4 million in value at the cost of $42 million so far.
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Former Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik had some hits and misses as the team’s GM. This was easily the best deal he made during his tenure.
Cruz is not the first Mariner to win the Silver Slugger Award at DH. The great Edgar Martinez won four of them from 1995 to 2003 (he also won the Silver Slugger at third base in 1992).
Edgar’s four Silver Slugger Awards at DH are the second-most all-time. Only David Ortiz, with seven, has more.
Cruz will be 37 next year and has one year left on a contract that has been terrific for the Mariners. Edgar Martinez hit at a high level as a Mariners DH when he was in his 30s. Seattle Mariners fans are hoping Nelson Cruz can do the same, at least for one more year.
Next: San Diego Padres: 2017 Season Review
Will he continue to produce at an elite, All-Star level? Or like many who have come before him, will his production begin decreasing? Nevertheless, Nelson Cruz has extended his career longer than anticipated, which is okay by us baseball fans who love that swagger to go with the exciting style of play.