The San Diego Padres are not done making moves this offseason, and apparently, they have interest in free agent slugger Nelson Cruz.
Cruz is turning 43 soon, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for the Padres. And why would it be? The veteran hitter played for the Washington Nationals in 2022 and featured in 124 games, hitting 10 home runs in the process. He also had 64 RBI and recorded a .234 batting average along with a .651 OPS.
In 2021, during which he split time between Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays–at age 40 as well–he hit 32 home runs and tallied 86 RBI and .832 OPS. Overall in his professional career that has spanned 18 years now, he has made 459 home runs, 1302 RBI and a .274 batting average.
Of course it remains to be seen if the Padres can actually land him. As Jon Heyman of MLB Network noted, San Diego is just one of multiple teams interested in Nelson Cruz's services.
The Padres do have one advantage, though: they have a connection with Cruz. For those not in the know, general manager AJ Preller was with Cruz before during his time with the Texas Rangers.
Cruz was with the Rangers from 2006 to 2013, and Preller served as a front office executive of the team from 2004 until 2014 before he left when the Padres hired him to be their general manager.
The Padres have World Series dreams after making a move for Juan Soto in 2022, and sure enough, they are hoping to surround him with more talent as they make another run in 2023.
Follow Us
Subscribe