Nelson Cruz could bring some much-needed offense to the San Diego Padres
Sure, the Padres are trying to offload the contracts of Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers, and are trying to figure out what kind of team they will be after last season’s second-half collapse and the arrival of new manager Bob Melvin, but Nelson Cruz could make sense in San Diego.
Myers could be considered the most likely DH candidate for the Padres in 2022, but is San Diego going to be content with an offense that could look eerily similar to last season’s group that finished 11th out of the National League’s 15 teams in home runs and eighth in runs scored while placing second in strikeouts?
With Adam Frazier now in Seattle, the Padres will need to shake things up on offense in order to keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants just in their division alone (let alone the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves lurking in the NL as well). Cruz could go a long ways toward that, and A.J. Preller has shown he’s not afraid to make the big move to try to improve his team. It hasn’t paid off yet, but you can count on Preller to keep trying to find the right formula for his roster.
And let’s not forget that the Padres have already teased that more moves are to come whenever the lockout is over. Could Cruz be among those moves?