The San Diego Padres signed Nelson Cruz to a one-year, $1 million contract Wednesday, ensuring that the 42-year-old will spend at least one more season in professional baseball. If healthy, he could provide another powerful bat to San Diego’s stacked lineup.

Though the Padres’ deal with Cruz is short-term due to his age, signing the heavy hitter may provide value. As a member of the Twins and Rays in 2021, Cruz batted .265 and hit 32 home runs in an All-Star season. He did not finish the 2022 season because of an eye injury, which required surgery in the offseason. Before he stepped away in September, he was batting .234 with 10 home runs in 124 games.

Cruz doesn’t necessarily fill a need for San Diego but could serve as a supplemental bat in a strong lineup. With a core quartet of Fernando Tatis, Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado, the former Texas Ranger star will not have to serve as the focal point at this point in his career.

The 2023 season will be Cruz’s 19th as he joins his eighth MLB team. After starting his career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005, he played eight seasons for the Texas Rangers and appeared in the 2011 World Series.

After a stint in Baltimore in 2014, he moved on to four seasons with the Mariners and two full seasons with the Twins, who traded him to Tampa Bay halfway through the 2021 season. He played for the Washington Nationals in 2022, who bought out his contract for $3 million after declining to give him a mutual option.

In his career, Cruz has 459 career home runs and 2,018 hits, a result of efficient production over the course of a lengthy career. It is unlikely that he will be able to reach many more MLB milestones in the time he has left in professional baseball. But as a member of the Padres for the next season, he will have a chance to serve in a supporting role for one of the best teams in MLB.

The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired designated hitter Nelson Cruz in a four-player trade with the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota is sending Cruz and minor-league pitcher Calvin Faucher to the Rays for a pair of talented minor-league pitchers in Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.

Cruz knew there was a possibility that he would be traded after the Twins fell out of playoff contention. Yet, it was still shocking to be traded away from an organization he’s come to liked in two and a half seasons.

“We thought we should be in the playoff race,” Cruz explained. “Never thought we should be in this situation. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. You never want to leave the places where you are, where you feel comfortable. It is what it is. That’s part of the business.”

“It’s a tough one,” Cruz continued. “I guess it’s a new chapter, and I will embrace it the way I embrace everything in my life to go help the Tampa Bay Rays to win a championship.”

Tampa Bay entered Thursday trailing the Boston Red Sox by one game in the American League East. They currently hold the top wild-card spot.

The 41-year-old slugger is having a great season despite his age. He’s batting .294/.370/.537 with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs in 85 games. He earned his seventh All-Star selection and has finished in the top 10 of MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. Cruz’s arrival in Tampa will help them against left-handed pitching. The Rays are currently hitting .226 versus lefties.

A 17-year veteran, Cruz signed a one-year, $13 million deal with Minnesota in February and is set to become a free agent later this year.

Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is just around the corner. With this in mind, it is time to take a look at predictions for each time going into the 2021 season following 2020’s pandemic shortened season.

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The Minnesota Twins finished the last two seasons with two AL Central titles. Last season, they placed fourth in ERA, posting a 3.58 ERA. In regards to the offense, Minnesota finished 19th in the league in runs scored with 269 runs and sixth in home runs with 91 homers. Over the past 19 seasons, the Twins have made the postseason nine times but have not made it to the World Series.

Check out Minnesota’s projected starters.

Minnesota Twins Projected Batting Order:

1. OF Max Kepler
2. 2B Jorge Polanco
3. 3B Josh Donaldson
4. DH Nelson Cruz
5. 1B Miguel Sano
6. SS Andrelton Simmons
7. C Mitch Garver
8. OF Alex Kirilloff
9. OF Byron Buxton 

Minnesota Twins Projected Pitching Staff:

• SP1 Jose Berrios 
• SP2 Kenta Maeda 
• SP3 Michael Pineda
• SP4 Randy Dobnak
• SP5 J.A. Happ
• CL Taylor Rogers

Minnesota Twins Team Outlook:

The Minnesota Twins took some considerable losses over this past offseason. For starters, their offense lost outfielder Eddie Rosario, infielder Marwin Gonzalez, and catcher Alex Avilia. There were also losses in the bullpen, including relievers Sergio Romo and Trevor May. If that weren’t enough, the Twins’ starting rotation lost both Jake Odorizzi and Rich Hill.

As far as additions to the team go, Minnesota has added relievers Hansel Robles and Alex Colome, as well as starter J.A. Happ to their squad. Despite the loss of Rosario, the Twins hope that the re-signing of Nelson Cruz and the addition of Andrelton Simmons to the team will level out their offense. In 2021, it seems as if Minnesota will fall from atop the AL Central back down to the middle of the division.

Minnesota Twins Schedule:

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Designated Hitter Nelson Cruz is returning to the Minnesota Twins. The hitter agreed to a deal one-year deal worth $13 million.

Cruz will be returning to Minnesota after he signed a one-year deal last season. Cruz had a batting average of .303, 16 home runs and 33 RBI’s in the shortened season. These numbers are quite good, especially when you take into account that Cruz is 40 years old. The hitter will be turning 41 in August. Despite his age, the slugger has defied the odds and continues to perform at a high level.

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In 2018, it certainly looked like the slugger was on a decline as he only had a batting average of .256, 37 home runs, and 97 RBI’s. At the time, he was with the Seattle Mariners and was 39 years old. It was certain that his numbers were due to to his age, but he continued forward and singed with the Twins in 2019.

In 2019, he had sort of a career revival as his numbers skyrocketed across almost all categories. The six-time All-Star hit .311 with 41 home runs and 108 RBI’s while producing an OPS of 1.031 at 40 years old. Those numbers earned the hitter his third Silver Slugger Award and another one in 2020.

Cruz has hit over 40 home runs in a season four times in his career. Only Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds have done so more often, with five seasons with over 40 homers. The slugger is also the 57th player to hit over 400 career home runs.

At the start of the 2018 season, Kevin Cash and Andy Green, both 40, were the youngest managers in Major League Baseball. This year, the Minnesota Twins hired 37-year-old Rocco Baldelli.

They appear to have not gone all in on youth. On Thursday, they agreed to a one-year, $14.3 million deal with 38-year old slugger Nelson Cruz. The deal features a $12 million, team option for 2020.

Cruz has hit the most home runs over the past five seasons with 203. No other player topped 200. The next closest is Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton with 188, 15 less. Over those five years, Cruz missed only an average of nine games per season.

On Instagram, he thanked the Seattle Mariners and said goodbye. He wrote, ” would like to thank the Mariners ownership especially John for all you have done for me and my hometown, the organization, the coaching staff, my teammates, Ryan, Billy and everyone else in the clubhouse, Rick Rizzs and all of the other reporters I came across, and most importantly the fans for all of your support over the last four seasons.  Seattle, you hold a special place in my heart as you embraced me from the start even when skeptics said I would not succeed in a pitcher friendly park. I hope you enjoyed hearing Dave Sims say Boomstick Baby as much as I did. ”

Cruz will be a much-needed spark for the Twins, who ranked 23rd in the majors last season with 166 home runs. This offseason they’ve added C.J. Cron who hit 30 home runs in 2018 and Jonathan Schoop to the roster.