May 11, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (23) spins around the bases after hitting three runs at home against the New York Mets during the second half at Nationals Park. Mandatory credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
The perennial wonder, Nelson Cruz, may find himself in circulation for the second season in a row.
cruise, 41, signed a one-year, $15 million contract with Washington Nationals over the holiday season, a move that left many in the industry confused. Cruz’s contract has a reciprocal option for a second season but if he stays in the capital, it is unlikely that he will be picked up by either side.
While the great player got off to a relatively slow start in 2022 (averaging .194 with just 72 OPS+ through 33 games), he’s gotten off to slow before that over the years, still has another world power and is still being looked at. As one of the scariest hitters in today’s game.
With the Nationals comfortably last in the NL East thanks to their 12-24 record, Cruz is one of the most likely commercial candidates on the team this July. Although it is already 40 years old, it represents a slight statistical shift away from making a decent return on the trade.
Trade Rumors Nelson Cruz: 5 Favorites
*Note: All statistics are valid as of the morning of May 16, 2022.
San Diego Padres
Padres somewhat surprisingly followed Cruz into the trade deadline last year with the idea of playing with him at first base for the first time in his career. Cruz, a formidable defender on the field, wouldn’t have performed well in this role for Padres (despite the fact that he Act Start once at 1B for last year’s rays).
We’re here in 2022 and the Padres have hooked up Luke Voit on their daily DH turn with the newly signed Robinson Kano and he’s expected to get some bats in there as well. Voit has struggled so hard to start the season, and it’s worth wondering if he’d be more suitable as a faction partner for Eric Hosmer, who came out of nowhere and seems to have found his swing again.
With Voit making the transition to the first base option part-time DH/platoon, Cruz could slide straight into the middle of this Padres lineup in support of the aforementioned Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis and Hosmer.
The Padres have plenty of small-league promotion prospects to choose from in a potential deal for Cruz, as well as recently demoted Dinelson Lamet who they seem to have given up on and stuck in business talks.
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