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OOTPRealTime · 12-17-2013, 03:45 PM

I decided to take a closer look at Nelson Cruz who is a free agent after a "down" season with the Rangers. He hit a career-low .238 but still managed 24 homers and 85 RBI for the World Champs. He had a homer and four RBI in Game 7 of the Series. He is 33 years old and while his best days are behind him, he's good for 20+ homers if healthy. Here's the most intriguing part - he's only looking for two years and around $8 Million total. That's pretty cheap. He won't kill us in the outfield, defensively and could play left field, if needed. He has a cannon of an arm and will gun down some would-be run-scorers. He hits from the right side and would give us a nice compliment to our current outfielders. This may be the perfect stop-gap, while Taveras develops into the player he can be. This would relieve some pressure and allow Oscar to play center field, as well as some right field. At this point, he's looking like the best option. We won't have to give up anything and did I mention he is cheap(er)?

So, I gave his agent a ring and let him know we're interested. The response wasn't as positive as I'd hoped. Though, I do understand that playing in the American League would probably be the better thing for him. He can DH when not playing the field. That said, he is only looking for two years. He'll be 35 when this contract expires and THAT'S when he can go back to the AL. I explained this. I don't think they are getting too many bites. I'll take a closer look with DK to make sure this move makes sense and then come up with the offer. It may cost a little more to convince him to come to the NL, but I think we can do that.

12-17-2013, 03:45 PM	#78
OOTPRealTime Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 147	Nelson Cruz? I decided to take a closer look at Nelson Cruz who is a free agent after a "down" season with the Rangers. He hit a career-low .238 but still managed 24 homers and 85 RBI for the World Champs. He had a homer and four RBI in Game 7 of the Series. He is 33 years old and while his best days are behind him, he's good for 20+ homers if healthy. Here's the most intriguing part - he's only looking for two years and around $8 Million total. That's pretty cheap. He won't kill us in the outfield, defensively and could play left field, if needed. He has a cannon of an arm and will gun down some would-be run-scorers. He hits from the right side and would give us a nice compliment to our current outfielders. This may be the perfect stop-gap, while Taveras develops into the player he can be. This would relieve some pressure and allow Oscar to play center field, as well as some right field. At this point, he's looking like the best option. We won't have to give up anything and did I mention he is cheap(er)? So, I gave his agent a ring and let him know we're interested. The response wasn't as positive as I'd hoped. Though, I do understand that playing in the American League would probably be the better thing for him. He can DH when not playing the field. That said, he is only looking for two years. He'll be 35 when this contract expires and THAT'S when he can go back to the AL. I explained this. I don't think they are getting too many bites. I'll take a closer look with DK to make sure this move makes sense and then come up with the offer. It may cost a little more to convince him to come to the NL, but I think we can do that.