The Twins and free-agent designated hitter Nelson Cruz are in “a staring contest where neither side is blinking,” Dan Hayes of The Athletic writes. As a 40-year-old coming off yet another great season, Cruz is looking to secure the best possible payday, though he’s in a difficult position because there is still no word on whether the National League will have a DH in 2021. As such, it’s no surprise that Cruz is taking his time on the open market, even though he did say in the past that he would like to remain a Twin. Cruz put up a phenomenal .308/.394/.626 line with 57 home runs in 735 plate appearances in Minnesota from 2019-20.
- Free-agent outfielder Josh Reddick seemingly said goodbye to the Astros on Instagram on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays. “Thank you to the Astros, my teammates, coaches, staff and of course the FANS,” Reddick posted. “Houson will always be special to me. From winning a World Series, to getting engaged and starting a family here and everything in between, I loved playing here and look forward to doing it again.” The Astros could still re-sign Reddick, but that has “never seemed likely,” Rome writes. Reddick joined the Astros on a four-year, $52MM contract before 2017 and proceeded to record a respectable .275/.331/.425 slash with 48 home runs in 1,787 plate appearances as a member of the club.
- Rays righty Nick Bitsko underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a labrum issue, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Bitsko will miss time in 2021 as a result, though it’s unclear how long he’ll sit out, per Topkin. The 18-year-old was the 24th overall pick in last June’s draft.
- Indians right-handed reliever Cam Hill announced that he was involved in a car crash Monday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic relays. Hill suffered a wrist injury that required surgery, but the 26-year-old indicated that he and everyone else involved in the crash came out OK. He suggested that he’ll be ready for next season. Hill made his major league debut in 2020 and posted a 4.91 ERA/5.43 FIP with 7.85 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 across 18 1/3 innings.
I’ve thought all along Cruz probably wants at least 2 years/$32M and can envision up to a 3 year/$50M deal, while the Twins probably want to only give him one year at $13M again, maybe with an option and for the price to stay at around $13M per season no matter what. Cruz doesn’t want to give up the extra $35M+ he thinks he deserves in additional guaranteed money if he can convince the club to meet him at his earnings goals and the Twins don’t want to be saddled with an over paid, under performing, aging player taking up much needed budget and roster space, great and consistent as he’s been.
Josh Reddick’s contract with the Astros always felt like a slight overpay for his services and I’m not saying he in any way under performed on the contract, but he definitely got paid a bit more than what he was worth and could never get anywhere near that kind of deal again and probably wasn’t very tradable when on the Astros, so now the Astros almost certainly are looking forward to moving on from his services and Reddick may not get any offers that would be worth it to him to continue playing and grinding for a season and doing all the conditioning, etc.
Reddick’s contract was terrible, don’t sugar coat it. 52 million for 1 good seasons. OPS+ was below 100 from 2018-2020. He got paid astronomically more than his worth.
So his production dipped once the trash cans got put away ? Shocking…
Exactly, take out 2017 and his slash line is .258/318/400 which is solidly below average production.
Man that is so weird… Reddick’s only good year was they year they won the World Series… It’s almost like he knew what pitch was coming… oh wait…
He knew what pitch was coming and he still wasn’t even THAT good lol
How DID that happen? I feel like going into FA off his seasons on the A’s he was already overpaid in his arbitration years and I fully expected him to get like 2 years/$15M or so, maybe 3 years/$27M if enough teams were in on the bidding, but yeah 4 years/$52M was INSANE for his production/line up presence.
Whenever I’ve thought about “cushy career and lottery level salary” I’ve thought of Reddick’s time on the Astros, relative to how other players of his performance typically get paid or treated.
I simply don’t see any team giving a 40-year-old DH a three-year contract.
Reddick is a 1/5m player Period If he’s lucky. Life in MLB post pandemic
I think 2 year is more realistic.
Life post-trash can banging is more like it. Look at his 2017 and tell me he didn’t benefit greatly from what Houston was doing that year
I would be stunned if he found a 2-year deal. It wouldn’t surprise me if he fails to sign a 1-year MLB deal
Yeah… seems plausible when you do some simple research: /s
signstealingscandal.com/
@TeamOperator
I’m pretty sure Cruz’s agent has made him aware that a 3 year contract is unlikely. I see one plus an option that kicks in with 500 abs.
Reddick is still a respectable performer but I wonder if quite a few teams will refuse to come near him. He certainly did not handle the sign stealing scandal very graciously.
You obviously have not read Tony Adams’ research which documented every “bang”. Reddick, Altuve and Tony Kemp were reported the lone players to have refused it. How “gracious” is one supposed to be when he is wrongfully accused? In fact, they admitted it, and stood as a team, which is more than can be said for a reported 20 other teams involved in deciphering signs by video. Unseal the draft kings letter Yankees fan, hmm? Afraid Eye in the Sky will cause irreparable harm? I see how all those teams refused to come near Mookie Betts, or refused Jake Marisnick, JD Davis, Cam Maybin, Marwin Gonzales, Max Stassi, Brian McCann How about George Springer? Hypocritic and moronic teak.
You’re as tone def as the astros players
Seriously. Some of these Astros fans are completely delusional. They have convinced themselves of this narrative that certain players didn’t cheat and are somehow blamesless and that really actually every team was cheating do what they did was ok. What a bunch of BS. The rest of us know they are filthy cheaters and deserve no credit for a championship or anything but the incredible amount of boos and insults they will get from fans around the country once stadiums are full again. Reddick is trash just like the rest of that organization
This. It’s the Patriots/Belichik all over again.
“We didn’t really need to do it, it didn’t help us. Besides, everyone else was doing it.”
It is naive to believe it wasn’t happening more around the league. Three teams have already been caught and two others seems to be expected. And personally, I do view it differently for Reddick, Kemp, and Altuve. Obviously they could have stopped it or threatened the team or something, but I do at least recognize that they had the integrity not to use it.
If you looked at some actual data, you’d realize that Reddick barely utilized the system, and 28/757 bangs means that the person probably didn’t realize he was batting. I’m sure Reddick was one of the guys who didn’t want to go through with it.
Seriously, people are delusional if they think every player on that club believed Cora’s system was what other teams were doing.
@yankee
How does one handle cheating graciously? Please provide an example.
glad the Phillies stayed away from Bitsko
Hard to go out too far for Cruz. He’s an obvious, confirmed juicer so his production could fall off a cliff if he stops using. Or he could get suspended again.
Halos- do you remember when Edward Snowden released confidential NSA documents? How about the Boston Marathon bombing or when Paul Walker crashed his car into a tree? Those two tragedies seem like lifetimes ago. All 3 of these things occurred in 2013. Same yr Nelson Cruz was caught using steroids.
Agree and disagree, if anything he gets more of a break imo. I remember all those things by year, didn’t remember the year nelly got busted.
Remember, you don’t have to take clean cut steroids like palmeiro and his winny -v(real dumb move). Winstrol or winny v, common street names for stanzolol, also dries the joints out for most users and thereby has a negative effect on the joints and ligaments. Only reason people use it is because it’s mild effects for muscle growth(you can gain strength without too much size most times, therefore slide under the radar a little better than something that you’d blow up like a cow on). Probably a much shorter detection time on oral winny vs taking testosterone as well. Test can remain in your body up to 9 months if you take a long acting ester(cypionate / deconate ) Remember, steroids aren’t something you shoot in your rear ended and wake up looking like the hulk the next day. I can promise you, line up 3 men and give them the same drug and same dose and you will get three different results every time. I literally mean every time. It’s genetics, your base level of muscle and how your body responds to the juice. If it wasn’t anyone could take 2,000 mg test a week and be a pro bodybuilder. My example is Brady Anderson. Hits in the teens, then 20, then 50, then back to 20. It’s clear he benefited the most but why? His genetics, he always was lean and had a good solid build. Never was a big guy, but had a good dense base of muscle, he always buffed out but once he took the sauce he looked like a statue. So you can go from Calvin Klein model to statue of Greek god in a few months of training and gear with good genetics, yes, that is true. Still need to work your butt off unless your that gifted genetically. However, you cannot look like big papi and become a statue just from taking a few months of gear. Look at bartolo, here’s a guy who took it and looked like he just came outta McDonald’s(probably still does). So you can see, if you are overweight steroids don’t give you some miracle. They may help your performance some I won’t deny that, but they don’t produce a statue. To be a statue you already have to be in shape and have a good base, without the base you are nothing. I’m not advocating it, so if anything this is part defense and part argument to your post. In defense, Nelson was already a good hitter. He also has good genetics or he wouldn’t be playing at 40, juice or no juice.
So imo not saying he’s still on, but not sure how you can rule it out knowing all that. He’s 40 hitting 40 still, With a 300 avg. Some guys had taken undetectable drugs or drugs like growth that would require a blood test. So please don’t act like you can’t easily bypass the testing, That’s my only knock. Even an idiot from Baltimore like me could beat a test. Ask around on here, I’m just “a regular moron”.
What does being a “statue” have to do with anything? Baseball players benefit from the recovery aspects/strength benefits of synthetic testosterone. Probably the most popular study of bee effects of steroids show that steroids + no weight training produces lean muscle 16% faster than no steroids + weight training. Moving the needle that much can make a huge difference, performance-wise. Here’s a link to an article that cites that study
legionathletics.com/side-effects-of-steroids/
There’s also articles about strength and its effects on bat speed. So it’s not about being a statue… let’s not forget Dee gordon was also popped
Moron. I don’t recall if he failed a test or if his name was just mention (which apparently is the same as a failed test anyway – guilty if we say you are) but either way that was years ago. He has surely been tested regularly since, like all players, and he hasn’t failed a test. So not sure how you can say his production “could fall off if he stops using”. You have 0 proof he’s used for years. Look at Cano, busted, comes back and doesn’t preform, can’t handle it, starts using again, plays better, busted again. Cruz is clean, get over it! And no, I am not a Twins or Cruz fan per say.
Cruz was popped and suspended, then linked to another potential scandal. He’s about as clean as a doghouse but hey, if he can beat the system there’s isn’t much you can do about it.
What other scandal? And he didn’t beat the system, he was caught and paid the price. It cracks me up how people seem harsher on people who get suspended for PEDS then people who have gone to jail and have done their time. Criminals get more of a second chance, or at least more of the benefit of doubt it seems that they did their time. There is NO PROOF that Cruz is doing anything wrong and he gets tested all the time.
Reddick at this point is a platoon player or fourth Outfielder. I’m sure he’ll land somewhere as there are plenty of OF needy teams
Reddick needs to retire. Take his stolen WS ring and shove it. He can explain to his kids how he and the rest of the Astros cheated to win a WS.
Here here
name checks out
Haha. That’s adorable. Poor, poor Dodgers would never, ever stoop so low. Wait, ManRam, LOL, apparently he and all the other cheats employed by the respectable Dodgers don’t count.
PED’s are not uncommon. A sophisticated sign stealing scandal not so much. What “Dodger cheats” are you referring to? They just went the whole decade without a significant player getting a drug suspension.
Lmao your still salty red duck didn’t even cheat and neither did altuve believe it or not also you just won a ring be happy for that
Whooped Dodgers behind convincingly in LA where there was NO TRASH CAN BANGING, get over it .
Always be a fake title.
“From ‘winning’ a World Series…”
Funny stuff.
If the Twins can get Rosario off the books, sign Ozuna and forget Cruz.
More like – they spent way to much on Donaldson and now are trying to cut corners other places. Signing Donaldson plus covid plus twins unwillingness to trade prospects equals window is about shut
You’re not wrong. However, once they committed to Donaldson they needed to be fully committed to actually winning more than just a division. A weak division at that. Definitely too many years given to JD.
The absolute max for Cruz should be 2 @15 and that’s a stretch given his age
Yes. Absolute max. And I think $15mm per is steep for him. He is worth a bit more to the Twins given his very positive presence, leadership skills and how he mentors the younger guys. Twins should probably make bringing him back a priority on the offensive side. Money isn’t as big of a hurdle in MN as some may think. I think they should give him the 2 years but the 2nd should come with incentives or escalators that can vest with his 2021 performance. He’s defied time to this point but that production could roll off a cliff pretty quick.
Reddick hit a “respectable” .275 /.331 /.425.. if it were a Yankee they would have said “mashed”.
Inexcusable delay on the DH decision.
Ageed, isnt it pretty much going to hold up most teams roster construction? No way if was Cruz and similar types would i sign if i have potentially another 16 teams bidding on me. MLB really need to sort this asap or do i smell a plan to artifically lower salaries by the delay….hmmm
Wow ! Did u come up w that all on your own or did u read it somewhere!? Of course the owners are intentionally delaying this. They want to see how next season is looking to shape up w covid so they delay things that’ll impact those decisions as long as possible
Agreed. How is the player’s union not making a bigger thing of this? A DH decision should have been announced the minute the World Series ended.
Exactly. I mean, I understand the owners wanting to feel out the Covid situation a little more, but for NL owners, it’s in their best interests to know so they can get guys like Cruz or Ozuna before AL teams get both. Plus, wouldn’t more exciting baseball draw more fans anyway? Hard to argue that people would rather watch Ozuna at the plate instead of just about any pitcher (amazing moments like Randy Johnson’s swings or Bartolo Colon’s HR notwithstanding).
Fully agree.
I would say the lack of a decision at this point signals it isn’t going to happen. If it were, you’d think the union would have pushed it as soon as the World Series was over.
Did Cam Hill have surgery on his pitching or non-pitching hand?
Pitching..but they’re also saying that he’ll be fine for the start of spring training..
There are writers suggesting the White Sox trade Vaughn + another prospect to get Snell, which opens up DH for them. Snell, Springer, and Cruz would make for a very nice offseason. Heck, even Rosario would be a huge upgrade over Mazara.
Delusional are all the fans that think the Astros were the only team! Red Sox and Yankees both got fined and no one ever says anything….ands yes it was in 18 when the Red Sox won the Series! If you ever watch any Astros games Reddick was far from trash in defense alone, not even touching what he did as a leader on that team and in club house. I love will people bash other teams as when they know nothing. About them except what the read. Get a life!