Email a copy of 'O's Made Three-Year Offer To Cruz Before Free Agency' to a friend
Loading ...
By Steve Adams | at
Email a copy of 'O's Made Three-Year Offer To Cruz Before Free Agency' to a friend
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
hide arrows scroll to top
Rally Weimaraner
The Mariners are desperate for a bat after just missing the postseason, they are going to overpay for one of Cruz/Martinez/Ramirez.
Bleed_Orange
Wasn’t there a MLBTR article recently that said the the Ms didn’t make a run at Cruz because of his connection to Biogenesis? I wonder if that previous position will deter them from making a run at him this year?
Rally Weimaraner
There was a report that ownership veto a Cruz deal last year because “The primary concern was how Cruz, then 33, would respond after being caught and suspended as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal.” I dont know if that means ownership opposed it on ideological grounds or if they just weren’t sure if he could hit without the juice. Either way that would still leave them with Martinez/Ramirez to overpay for.
Melvin Mendoza, Jr.
I believe I remember reading it was from the ideological standpoint, and that they don’t want to get involved with PED users.
Fanger
Cruz will crash and burn at that ballpark. he needs Camden Yards.
slider32
Cruz will get paid this year, he lead the league in home runs. I would think he gets 3/50.
GrumpyPuppy
Any smart GM is going to look at his home road splits on HR/FB. Cruz has spent his whole career in a HR hitting paradise, both in Texas and Baltimore. For his career Cruz has a 20% HR/FB rate at home and 15% HR/FB rate on the road. If you put Cruz in less hitter friendly park his HR production is going to drop by about 25%.
Yankeeboy11
That can be said about a lot of hitters
GrumpyPuppy
True but Cruz doesn’t have any skills other than power, other players do.
Blanketsburg
You should check the stats. In 2014 Cruz hit .252/.320/.463 with 15 HR at home and .289/.346/.584 with 25 HR away from Camden Yards.
GrumpyPuppy
I used his career stats because HR/FB is a stat with a very high standard deviation. You need a really big sample size for it to be predictive.
Blanketsburg
I’ll agree with you that he definitely enjoyed and benefited from hitting in Arlington.
West Coast O's Fan
There really aren’t that many pitcher friendly parks left in the AL, KC, Seattle, maybe Detroit, that’s about it.
West Coast O's Fan
Cruz, for his career, has hit 107 HRs at home, and 90 on the road. Not exactly a huge difference.
RyÃ…nWKrol
That could be a fluke since he normally had lobs used splits as a Ranger heavily favoring his home park. On the road he was more like a Trumbo/Cespedes type OBP.
RyÃ…nWKrol
*lob sided
davedsg
Other then Tropicana Field, the entire AL East is a power hitters haven.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Plus, Cruz hit MOST of his home-runs in 2014 during away games.
Look, if the O’s get him back fine, if not fine.
Same for Markakis. I think the O’s should look at all available options to tweak this ball club. They aren’t very far away from competing and winning the division title again. Well, although April 2015 is still a bit aways’ away.
GrumpyPuppy
Career NOT 2014, there is more than one season that makes up a career!!!!! If you’re going off 2014 alone you need to factor in playing in the AL east, a division with 4 HR hitting paradises.
OhthePossibilities
“Cruz has spent his whole career in a HR hitting paradise, both in Texas and Baltimore.”
You may be saying career, but your statement indicates that his HR #s were likely driven by the parks he played in INCLUDING BALTIMORE. It’s completely fair game for people to point out that it was likely not the case in Baltimore.
GrumpyPuppy
Baltimore is included in his career numbers too. Also I would point out Lefty was only looking at the total number’s of HR hit in Baltimore not the rate stat, HR/FB. I used his career stats because HR/FB is a stat with a very high standard deviation. You need a really big sample size for it to be predictive.
OhthePossibilities
You seem to be just twisting to avoid admitting that you were off.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Well, the thing is I am at a loss as to why Cruz didn’t take the 3 year deal. He loves hitting at Fenway. His numbers were pretty good at OPACY. The Orioles have a chance at a ring and they were willing to give him a 3 year deal. What more does he want? The same for Markakis.
OhthePossibilities
Camden Yards was ranked #20 in HR Park Factor in 2014… so not a HR paradise. And both Tropicana and Fenway ranked lower than them, so basically you have 3/5 parks ranking in the bottom third of stadiums for HRs.
GrumpyPuppy
Nelson Cruz hit the most HR in the MLB but was ranked 102 in average flyball ball distance. That to me at least proves he got very very lucky with his FB’s.
OhthePossibilities
Well then don’t sign him.
GrumpyPuppy
Isn’t that what I was advocating all along?
OhthePossibilities
No, I meant you personally.
GrumpyPuppy
OK but only if you personally sign him…
OhthePossibilities
I don’t even have the money to sign a replacement player.
GrumpyPuppy
lol… come on if you work for a decade you can afford one player at league minimum and still eat.
Tyler S
You do realize that he hit 25 home runs on the road, and only 15 at home right?
Melvin Mendoza, Jr.
I still like the idea that I’ve seen kicked around on here multiple times that players getting caught using PED’s are only allowed to receive 1 year deals for the remainder of their careers. Maybe even some kind of limitation on the dollar amount too based on the QO value of that year’s market or something.
Rally Weimaraner
That would never make it past the players union, Big Papi would smash that idea faster than a dugout phone.
Melvin Mendoza, Jr.
Oh I definitely know, just a pipe dream.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Did he ever reimburse the Orioles for that phone?
acottonshirt
I believe that I have the same chance of getting a 5 year contract as Cruz does.
Rally Weimaraner
Still looking for a five year deal, I guess Cruz didn’t learn his lesson last year
westcoastwhitesox
I’d blame it on his agent but he just switched to a new one…
section 34
Like the story said, assume it’s a bargaining position this early in the game.
davedsg
Nori Aoki would be a fine replacement for Markakis. And cheaper.
Goin' to Sheetz
For maybe another year, but Aoki’s lows are much lower than Markakis’, and he’s rocketing toward them now.
Mikenmn
Five years? Wow, but I suppose if he thinks he can get it. I’d be really wary of someone looking for years 34-38, coming off a career year, can’t really play the field, and isn’t even a high OBA guy for a slugger. He will get a lot of money, but….
talcha32
Rangers should get in there with a big 3 year + 1-2 option years type deal. We need to bring the Cruz Missile back to town. Rotating him and Smolinski at RF/DH would be good.