Nelson Cruz isn’t sure how long he intends to play beyond the upcoming season, but the 39-year-old slugger said earlier today that the 2020 campaign won’t be his last one, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. That’s not a huge surprise, given that Cruz’s camp has already had some talks with the Twins about extending his contract. Cruz plans to take things “year by year,” but it’s easy to imagine him continuing as long as he produces at such a high level. Cruz, who’ll turn 40 in July, suited up for 120 games and tallied 521 plate appearances with Minnesota last year, hitting at a .311/.392/.639 clip with 41 home runs and 26 doubles. His 163 wRC+ ranked fourth in the Majors among qualified hitters, trailing only Mike Trout, Christian Yelich and Alex Bregman. He’s earning $12MM this season after the Twins picked up a club option on the heels of last year’s excellent output.
Some more notes out of Fort Myers…
- Twins utilityman Marwin Gonzalez underwent a debridement of the patella tendon in his right knee this offseason, he revealed to reporters today (link via La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune). That surgery, which he described as relatively minor, had him behind schedule early in camp. However, Gonzalez made his Grapefruit League debut today and swatted a home run and a double while playing second base in his first outing of the spring. Neal notes that because Gonzalez sometimes still feels a bit of soreness after workouts, he could be held out of the team’s outfield mix early in the season to limit his running.
- Left fielder Eddie Rosario spoke with Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com about last year’s ankle injury and the manner in which it impacted him in the second half of the season. As Park points out, Statcast points to a notable dip in Rosario’s average sprint speed following his return from the IL, and Rosario himself acknowledged that he couldn’t run at 100 percent and that the ankle sprain “affected everything.” There’s probably no more glaring evidence of Rosario’s limited mobility than his defensive ratings; in 2018, Rosario posted +9 Defensive Runs Saved, a +4.2 Ultimate Zone Rating and -2 Outs Above Average. In 2019, those numbers absolutely plummeted (-6 DRS, -5.7 UZR and an MLB-worst -17 OAA). Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli tells Park that the team is pleased with Rosario’s improved mobility this spring, calling last summer’s injury “fairly significant” and echoing the fact that the 28-year-old never fully recovered from that June 26 ankle sprain.
Some more info on Rosario’s ankle and an attempt to show how it impacted his athleticism and aggressiveness here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KJb7tK7B-g
Twins WS champs. Easy $. Thank me later
They need to get through the Yankees first. I’ll say Yanks Vs. Twins in the ALCS tho.
Better trade for some starters by the deadline then.
I still think it’s incredibly odd that Cruz’s option was $12M and not his standard $14M. Just very odd. He’s been making $14M all these years, he’s as consistent as ever, why did he and the Twins agree on a $12M option? It’s just odd to me.
Odd you say?
It certainly sounds odd. It’s probably odd. Definitely odd.
When Cruz was with the Rangers without fail him, Hamilton and Napoli would rake every time they came in to Anaheim. 2010 thru 2012. (Not that they were cheating) But it seemed like they knew what was coming from our pitchers. Every time Napoli would hit a HR he would glare over at Scioscia in the Angels dugout.
Well Cruz was suspended for PEDs
There were reports after Napoli was traded to Toronto for Vernon Wells that Napoli and Scioscia clashed when Napoli played with the Angels. Scioscia denied that claim all thru the 2011 postseason, but it did seem like Napoli got extra joy out of Homering against the Angels.
It sure seemed that way. It seems when you’re as good a catcher as Scioscia was, he expected his catchers to be as good defensively. He favored Mathis over Napoli because of handling of the pitching staff.
Cruz will be released during the season for hitting around 200 and showing breakage. The Indians will beat out Twinkies most definitely
Good as Cruz is, the difference between the Twins and Indians (or White Sox, for that matter) is more than just Cruz. Probably an 85% or better chance the Twins take the division again.
The Twins have to worry more about Chicago than they do Cleveland.
You’re hilarious!
Watching Eddie run and play the outfield after his injury was painful. It was incredibly evident he was no where near full speed he jogged after balls many times. Hopefully he is healed up but ankle injuries can stay with you for a long time. I suspect that was part of why he never got traded.
Why wouldn’t Cruz want to play a game, collect $12M, pay taxes, piss enthusiasm all over the clubhouse…. Sounds like a great way to spend 9 months out of 12♂️
Who was banging the garbage can for Marwin?
Ur mom