Article: Rundown: Cruz, Cahill, Soria and Ramos

[Winston Smith]

Sorry to say I don't trust Sano so I would prefer they sign Moose. He can play 3B/DH and Sano can do 1B/DH and a little 3B. Prefer not to have one dimensional players.

 

[ashbury]

You can find me on my couch.

 

Love Always,

 

Bill Smith

Not to ruin your joke or anything, but Bill Smith landed on his feet with what looks like a nice job in the Minor League Baseball Office a year or two ago. He's doing all right.

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/info/bios.jsp#/bill-smith

[Battle ur tail off]

 

The Twins can sign Cruz and I believe his bat will play but it will indirectly cause issues with other positions due to roster space as you suggest.

Cruz makes more sense for a team like the Rays who can move Bauers to the OF or AAA. And move Wendle and Robertson around. If Cruz is signed... the Twins must move Austin to the OF or release Cron or Austin to accommodate and you are still sitting there with an absolute undeniable need for Sano to stay healthy and productive.

I’m ok with Cruz and would love the talent with the bat but only under the condition that the dominoes that need to follow the signing happen.

 

What you are forgetting is that guys like Austin or Cron are nobodies. They are cast offs, 26th men types. They are the definition of dumpster players. If they were so valued, we couldn't get them for a song. There will be warts, large ones on both of those guys or they wouldn't have been let go for nothing. Have the 2 of them compete for the spot. The one who doesn't make it, gets relegated to the minor leagues and used in case of an injury like the other teams that let them go did. 

 

 

[Battle ur tail off]

I'd sign Cruz and Ramos and no to the other guys. The others are just players that will eat up payroll and give you the same type of production you can get from your own home grown guys. We don't have a bat in our system, except Sano with the type of power and onbase skills Cruz posseses. We don't have a catcher in our system period, except one that is hurt all the time and has a terrible bat. 

 

Go after the talent, leave the mediocre guys for someone else to overpay. 

[Blake]

 

I think to some extent, we should probably reconsider what we mean by dumpster diving. That term brings back memories of Terry Ryan going out and signing the Jason Tyners and Mike Pelfrey's of the world who all had incredibly limited upsides and not even a high floor. 

 

So far, what I've seen out of this front office is an attempt to get guys with pretty reasonable ceilings. Morrison may not have worked out, but that was a smart get. Same with Lynn, though I'd argue that other an April, he was pretty good and was turned into prospects. 

 

Every single name on this list certainly seems defensible. All of those guys (except maybe Cahill) are reasonable bets to be above average regulars. I personally don't care if they target those types of guys, I think that's smart. 

I think my concern, better expressed elsewhere, is that these are players are better suited for a team that's making a push for the playoffs rather than filler/bridge for an evaluation year.

 

I also think "dumpster diving" because the players mentioned are on the other side of thirty and the Twins could easily see a dramatic drop off in production.

 

And, I freely admit, I may be jaded after the disappointing results of last year.

 

 

[amjgt]

Who are the teams actually bidding on Cruz?

 

Obviously nobody in the NL

Tigers and Royals seem like a No

Cleveland is a no because of $$ and Encarnacion

Blue Jays and Orioles seem like a No

Angels don't work because of Pujols

Seattle's a no since they are selling off

 

That leaves:

Houston

Oakland - Khris Davis block?

NY - Giancarlo did a lot of DHing last year

Boston - Probably out because of JD

Tampa Bay

Minnesota

Chicago

 

I'd say let this one play out for a while.

 

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

 

Who are the teams actually bidding on Cruz?

 

Obviously nobody in the NL

Tigers and Royals seem like a No

Cleveland is a no because of $$ and Encarnacion

Blue Jays and Orioles seem like a No

Angels don't work because of Pujols

Seattle's a no since they are selling off

 

That leaves:

Houston

Oakland - Khris Davis block?

NY - Giancarlo did a lot of DHing last year

Boston - Probably out because of JD

Tampa Bay

Minnesota

Chicago

 

I'd say let this one play out for a while.

This must be similar to the process MLBTR used to identify the Twins as the most likely target.  

[sweetmusicviola16]

I don't think there is anything to Ramos or Cruz at all. We are stuck with Castro taking up a spot already for the year. We already have Garver. We also have Astudillo who can float around to other positions. Very valuable asset to have when bench's are as short as they are. Cruz is strictly a DH. We can't afford that luxury. With that in mind I see the need to go after a player who has versatility. That could be Marwin Gonzalez.He can play OF and multiple IF positions. 

 

Our positions already look like this: Buxton, Rosario, Kepler and Cave in the OF. Cron, Schoop, Polanco, Sano and Adrianza/Torreas in the IF. Castro and Garver at C. That's 11 players already. Would we go with a 12 or 13 man staff? I'm in the 12 man staff camp. That would allow us Astudillo and to go after Gonzalez. Imo Austin only makes the team if we go with a 12 man and if no other upgrades are made.

 

As for Cahill, I'd rather they went after Happ myself. If they fail on him then go with what they have. I'm fine with Soria if he's not the biggest signing for the Pen. I want to see one of Familia, Robertson or Britton in addition to Soria. Or Kelvin Herrera instead of Soria.

 

To sum my thoughts up lets sign Gonzalez, Happ, Familia and Herrera. These would probably cost according to industry projections 40-45mil  in 19 and 20. We now have the payroll space and I honestly think we could compete very well with Cleveland with these moves. Standing pat shouldn't be an option, unless the org could care less about 2019 and 2020. I would hope that would not be the case.

 

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I think my concern, better expressed elsewhere, is that these are players are better suited for a team that's making a push for the playoffs rather than filler/bridge for an evaluation year.

 

I also think "dumpster diving" because the players mentioned are on the other side of thirty and the Twins could easily see a dramatic drop off in production.

 

And, I freely admit, I may be jaded after the disappointing results of last year.

 

I think we're all jaded... and the Vikings aren't helping us much... though at least Flip got fired today.

[Riverbrian]

 

What you are forgetting is that guys like Austin or Cron are nobodies. They are cast offs, 26th men types. They are the definition of dumpster players. If they were so valued, we couldn't get them for a song. There will be warts, large ones on both of those guys or they wouldn't have been let go for nothing. Have the 2 of them compete for the spot. The one who doesn't make it, gets relegated to the minor leagues and used in case of an injury like the other teams that let them go did. 

 

There is absolutely no chance whatsoever that I've forgotten where Austin, Cron or anybody came from and how they got here. 

 

There is however, a strong possibility that I just don't care because I fully understand the CBA and it's implications on the roster process, the limitations of a 25 and 40 man roster and the extremely thin margins involved in the decision making process of who teams can and can't keep and the frequency of how often they are wrong and let the wrong guy go. 

 

C.J. Cron came up through the Angels system. He was basically a bat only type chained to 1B or DH duties only because of his lack of positional flexibility. The Angels already had Albert Pujols for big money who did that very same thing and even though Cron out performed Pujols consistently. Pujols can't be moved because of his contract.

 

Enter Shohei Ohtani who would play DH when not pitching and now you have Pujols, Ohtani and Cron to handle 1B and DH and no roster can absorb that much attention to these limited players so someone had to go. 

 

So... It was Cron traded to the Rays. The Rays needed a big bat replacement for Logan Morrison. Cron finally gets over 500 AB's with no Pujols to contend with and he has a decent year. 

 

Enter Ji-Man Choi. Who is a left handed version of Cron but was once blocked by Cron and Pujols with the Angels. Followed by the crime of having options while the Yankees tried Chris Carter, Greg Bird and Chase Headley out at 1B. Followed by a stint in Milwaukee where he had Thames and Aguilar to contend with. 

 

Choi only has to be paid the minimum while Cron has reached arbitration status and was due around 5 million. The Rays also have highly touted rookie Jake Bauers. So they cut the 5 Million with hopes that they could use that 5 million to get a Nelson Cruz or a bigger bat and they fully understand that they can't keep Choi, Cron and Cruz on the same roster. The Rays realize that if they don't sign Cruz or a bigger bat... they have still broken even and saved 5 million because Choi and Cron are the same players.

 

Tyler Austin came up through the Yankees system... A system that is geared toward stacking up Judge and Stanton types and burning through minor league options to full exhaustion because they go get Judge and Stanton types instead. He comes up as on OF'er in the system but is moved to 1B right around the time that the Yankees were trying to Chris Carter, Greg Bird, Chase Headley and Ji-Man Choi at 1B. Was he terrible in the OF or was he moved to 1B because that was where the need and auditioning was going on? 

 

Tyler Austin runs out of options, typical Yankee procedure, not at all a crime against the player and they trade him to the Twins for Lance Lynn and get something they can use for him before he is tossed into the waiver pile. 

 

These guys are not nobody's. They are just low on jobs because they can only play 1B or DH and when you start piling all of these defensively limited power hitters up at 1B and DH, an over flow is created. Guys like Cron and Bour and Austin get spit out even though they clearly out hit the Adrianza's of the world, Guys like Austin and Voit never get a chance until one day... A player gets hurt, a hole is created, they happened to be in the right place at the right time and BOOM... Here come Luke Voit out of nowhere and everybody goes, "who is this guy"?  but until Luke Voit comes out of nowhere... we got folks who call them "Nobodies".

 

I won't do that. It's all about opportunity.    

 

Anyway, The Rays chose the cheaper option and let Cron go and the Twins sign Cron despite the cheaper option in Austin. So we did the opposite but both teams are looking at the same situation, neither team can really afford to burn this much attention on multiple players who can only play 1B and DH. 

 

So... as I stated before... if the Twins sign Cruz and it looks like we are competing with the Rays among the other teams... If the Twins sign Cruz, either Cron or Austin will have to go immediately... unless Austin can be moved to the OF (which I wish they would have tried in September when Rosario was injured so I had firmer grasp if this is even possible). 

 

And if the Twins go with Cruz at DH and Cron (or Austin) at 1B, it is still going to leave Sano completely on an island to sink this club or help this club swim because the 25 man roster has limitations, the CBA has limitations and players who can only DH or play 1B have limitations. 

 

 

[nicksaviking]

I prefer to get pitchers from Oakland slightly less than getting them from San Diego and slightly more than getting them from the Saints.

 

Which probably isn't fair to the Saints.

[Blake]

 

There is absolutely no chance whatsoever that I've forgotten where Austin, Cron or anybody came from and how they got here. 

 

There is however, a strong possibility that I just don't care because I fully understand the CBA and it's implications on the roster process, the limitations of a 25 and 40 man roster and the extremely thin margins involved in the decision making process of who teams can and can't keep and the frequency of how often they are wrong and let the wrong guy go. 

 

C.J. Cron came up through the Angels system. He was basically a bat only type chained to 1B or DH duties only because of his lack of positional flexibility. The Angels already had Albert Pujols for big money who did that very same thing and even though Cron out performed Pujols consistently. Pujols can't be moved because of his contract.

 

Enter Shohei Ohtani who would play DH when not pitching and now you have Pujols, Ohtani and Cron to handle 1B and DH and no roster can absorb that much attention to these limited players so someone had to go. 

 

So... It was Cron traded to the Rays. The Rays needed a big bat replacement for Logan Morrison. Cron finally gets over 500 AB's with no Pujols to contend with and he has a decent year. 

 

Enter Ji-Man Choi. Who is a left handed version of Cron but was once blocked by Cron and Pujols with the Angels. Followed by the crime of having options while the Yankees tried Chris Carter, Greg Bird and Chase Headley out at 1B. Followed by a stint in Milwaukee where he had Thames and Aguilar to contend with. 

 

Choi only has to be paid the minimum while Cron has reached arbitration status and was due around 5 million. The Rays also have highly touted rookie Jake Bauers. So they cut the 5 Million with hopes that they could use that 5 million to get a Nelson Cruz or a bigger bat and they fully understand that they can't keep Choi, Cron and Cruz on the same roster. The Rays realize that if they don't sign Cruz or a bigger bat... they have still broken even and saved 5 million because Choi and Cron are the same players.

 

Tyler Austin came up through the Yankees system... A system that is geared toward stacking up Judge and Stanton types and burning through minor league options to full exhaustion because they go get Judge and Stanton types instead. He comes up as on OF'er in the system but is moved to 1B right around the time that the Yankees were trying to Chris Carter, Greg Bird, Chase Headley and Ji-Man Choi at 1B. Was he terrible in the OF or was he moved to 1B because that was where the need and auditioning was going on? 

 

Tyler Austin runs out of options, typical Yankee procedure, not at all a crime against the player and they trade him to the Twins for Lance Lynn and get something they can use for him before he is tossed into the waiver pile. 

 

These guys are not nobody's. They are just low on jobs because they can only play 1B or DH and when you start piling all of these defensively limited power hitters up at 1B and DH, an over flow is created. Guys like Cron and Bour and Austin get spit out even though they clearly out hit the Adrianza's of the world, Guys like Austin and Voit never get a chance until one day... A player gets hurt, a hole is created, they happened to be in the right place at the right time and BOOM... Here come Luke Voit out of nowhere and everybody goes, "who is this guy"?  but until Luke Voit comes out of nowhere... we got folks who call them "Nobodies".

 

I won't do that. It's all about opportunity.    

 

Anyway, The Rays chose the cheaper option and let Cron go and the Twins sign Cron despite the cheaper option in Austin. So we did the opposite but both teams are looking at the same situation, neither team can really afford to burn this much attention on multiple players who can only play 1B and DH. 

 

So... as I stated before... if the Twins sign Cruz and it looks like we are competing with the Rays among the other teams... If the Twins sign Cruz, either Cron or Austin will have to go immediately... unless Austin can be moved to the OF (which I wish they would have tried in September when Rosario was injured so I had firmer grasp if this is even possible). 

 

And if the Twins go with Cruz at DH and Cron (or Austin) at 1B, it is still going to leave Sano completely on an island to sink this club or help this club swim because the 25 man roster has limitations, the CBA has limitations and players who can only DH or play 1B have limitations. 

I haven't seen you use your words like this for quite a while.

 

Excellent, and thank you for the information.

[snap4birds]

 

Who are the teams actually bidding on Cruz?

 

Obviously nobody in the NL

Tigers and Royals seem like a No

Cleveland is a no because of $$ and Encarnacion

Blue Jays and Orioles seem like a No

Angels don't work because of Pujols

Seattle's a no since they are selling off

 

That leaves:

Houston

Oakland - Khris Davis block?

NY - Giancarlo did a lot of DHing last year

Boston - Probably out because of JD

Tampa Bay

Minnesota

Chicago

 

I'd say let this one play out for a while.

Did they kick Texas out of the league?  'Bout time......

[amjgt]

Whoops. Knew I missed someone

[USAFChief]

 

There is absolutely no chance whatsoever that I've forgotten where Austin, Cron or anybody came from and how they got here. 

 

There is however, a strong possibility that I just don't care because I fully understand the CBA and it's implications on the roster process, the limitations of a 25 and 40 man roster and the extremely thin margins involved in the decision making process of who teams can and can't keep and the frequency of how often they are wrong and let the wrong guy go. 

 

C.J. Cron came up through the Angels system. He was basically a bat only type chained to 1B or DH duties only because of his lack of positional flexibility. The Angels already had Albert Pujols for big money who did that very same thing and even though Cron out performed Pujols consistently. Pujols can't be moved because of his contract.

 

Enter Shohei Ohtani who would play DH when not pitching and now you have Pujols, Ohtani and Cron to handle 1B and DH and no roster can absorb that much attention to these limited players so someone had to go. 

 

So... It was Cron traded to the Rays. The Rays needed a big bat replacement for Logan Morrison. Cron finally gets over 500 AB's with no Pujols to contend with and he has a decent year. 

 

Enter Ji-Man Choi. Who is a left handed version of Cron but was once blocked by Cron and Pujols with the Angels. Followed by the crime of having options while the Yankees tried Chris Carter, Greg Bird and Chase Headley out at 1B. Followed by a stint in Milwaukee where he had Thames and Aguilar to contend with. 

 

Choi only has to be paid the minimum while Cron has reached arbitration status and was due around 5 million. The Rays also have highly touted rookie Jake Bauers. So they cut the 5 Million with hopes that they could use that 5 million to get a Nelson Cruz or a bigger bat and they fully understand that they can't keep Choi, Cron and Cruz on the same roster. The Rays realize that if they don't sign Cruz or a bigger bat... they have still broken even and saved 5 million because Choi and Cron are the same players.

 

Tyler Austin came up through the Yankees system... A system that is geared toward stacking up Judge and Stanton types and burning through minor league options to full exhaustion because they go get Judge and Stanton types instead. He comes up as on OF'er in the system but is moved to 1B right around the time that the Yankees were trying to Chris Carter, Greg Bird, Chase Headley and Ji-Man Choi at 1B. Was he terrible in the OF or was he moved to 1B because that was where the need and auditioning was going on? 

 

Tyler Austin runs out of options, typical Yankee procedure, not at all a crime against the player and they trade him to the Twins for Lance Lynn and get something they can use for him before he is tossed into the waiver pile. 

 

These guys are not nobody's. They are just low on jobs because they can only play 1B or DH and when you start piling all of these defensively limited power hitters up at 1B and DH, an over flow is created. Guys like Cron and Bour and Austin get spit out even though they clearly out hit the Adrianza's of the world, Guys like Austin and Voit never get a chance until one day... A player gets hurt, a hole is created, they happened to be in the right place at the right time and BOOM... Here come Luke Voit out of nowhere and everybody goes, "who is this guy"?  but until Luke Voit comes out of nowhere... we got folks who call them "Nobodies".

 

I won't do that. It's all about opportunity.    

 

Anyway, The Rays chose the cheaper option and let Cron go and the Twins sign Cron despite the cheaper option in Austin. So we did the opposite but both teams are looking at the same situation, neither team can really afford to burn this much attention on multiple players who can only play 1B and DH. 

 

So... as I stated before... if the Twins sign Cruz and it looks like we are competing with the Rays among the other teams... If the Twins sign Cruz, either Cron or Austin will have to go immediately... unless Austin can be moved to the OF (which I wish they would have tried in September when Rosario was injured so I had firmer grasp if this is even possible). 

 

And if the Twins go with Cruz at DH and Cron (or Austin) at 1B, it is still going to leave Sano completely on an island to sink this club or help this club swim because the 25 man roster has limitations, the CBA has limitations and players who can only DH or play 1B have limitations. 

Sano is going to sink or swim based on his bat, and his health, not his prowess with the glove at third. If he stays healthy, and hits, he'll be at third most days. If he doesn't hit, or can't stay healthy, first base matters not. Cruz/Austin/Cron won't stand in his way, either way. 

 

And unless there's a prospect I don't know about, there's nobody in the minors that will push Sano off third either, for quite some time. So it's Sano or Adrianza at third, or possibly Schoop if Gordon suddenly remembers how to hit.

[Riverbrian]

Sano is going to sink or swim based on his bat, and his health, not his prowess with the glove at third. If he stays healthy, and hits, he'll be at third most days. If he doesn't hit, or can't stay healthy, first base matters not. Cruz/Austin/Cron won't stand in his way, either way.

 

And unless there's a prospect I don't know about, there's nobody in the minors that will push Sano off third either, for quite some time. So it's Sano or Adrianza at third, or possibly Schoop if Gordon suddenly remembers how to hit.

It’s the roster spot that Cron, Cruz, Austin occupy. That’s why Adrianza is your option and a bad option for Sano insurance. Thats my point. If the club keeps Cron and Austin for 1B and DH. It eliminates the 25 man roster spot to provide Sano insurance from the DH position or elsewhere.

 

Signing Cruz is great because the guy can hit but it forces Cron or Austin elsewhere.

 

Cruz signs... Cron or Austin has to go and we are still a bad slide from Adrianza playing 3B everyday in May and hitting 1 homerun during that time and you’ve gained nothing.

 

Cruz can hit... I love him but DH only players have roster implications as a result every single time. DH only spots will hit you somewhere else at some point unless two things happen. Everybody stays healthy or you design your roster with flexibility.

 

If you drop Adrianza or Cron and sign Murphy to a contract. Go ahead and sign Cruz. I’ll stay quiet and smile because you have yourself covered for all eventualities and you can absorb the DH only roster spot.

 

Thia team has too many rebound hopes with big question marks on their foreheads.

[kenbuddha]

Cruz can still hit. Based on last seasons statistics he'd rank 2nd in owar behind Rosario.

 

He may be worth signing just for the fact that he's Dominican. Sano is Dominican. I would think that Cruz may be looked upon as somewhat of a hero of Sano's due to backgrounds? Cruz could be a positive influence on Sano and that has to be worth something.

[Rigby]

Xander Bogaerts anyone? That's one worth pursuing in my estimation. 

[IndianaTwin]

Hmm....

 

Nelson Cruz - DH - Mariners

Hector Gomez of Z Deportes reports that free agent slugger Nelson Cruz is choosing between the Twins and Rays.

Cruz's agent Bryce Dixon has refuted this report, however, telling MLB.com's Jon Morosi that there are still additional teams in the running. The Astros and White Sox have also been mentioned as possible fits. Cruz registered an .850 OPS with 37 home runs and 97 RBI over 144 games this past season with the Mariners. He'll turn 39 years old next July.

Source: Hector Gomez on Twitter

[IndianaTwin]

Hmmmmmm....

 

Cody Allen - R - Indians
LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Twins are showing interest in free agent reliever Cody Allen.

Allen posted a 4.70 ERA over 67 innings in his dreadful final season with the Indians, but he was one of the more reliable closers in baseball for several years before that. The 30-year-old right-hander could be a nice buy-low addition for a number of clubs this winter. He had a 2.59 ERA and struck out 457 batters in 344 2/3 innings between 2013-2017.
Source: LaVelle E. Neal III on Twitter

[Nick Nelson]

Can someone explain the logic of signing a full-time DH to a roster that may already include (arguably) four starting-caliber OFs, two first basemen deserving of ABs, and Willians Astudillo? I'm just not seeing it.

 

Presumably signing Cruz would mean pushing aside some younger guys, but I'm not sure how that makes sense in the scope of their "develop the core" strategy.

[Rigby]

 

Can someone explain the logic of signing a full-time DH to a roster that may already include (arguably) four starting-caliber OFs, two first basemen deserving of ABs, and Willians Astudillo? I'm just not seeing it.

 

Presumably signing Cruz would mean pushing aside some younger guys, but I'm not sure how that makes sense in the scope of their "develop the core" strategy.

Crickets...............

[USAFChief]

Can someone explain the logic of signing a full-time DH to a roster that may already include (arguably) four starting-caliber OFs, two first basemen deserving of ABs, and Willians Astudillo? I'm just not seeing it.

 

Presumably signing Cruz would mean pushing aside some younger guys, but I'm not sure how that makes sense in the scope of their "develop the core" strategy.

Four starting outfielders? Two first basemen?

 

You sign Cruz because the middle of your batting order is missing.

 

I could care less if that means Austin isn’t on the roster, or Willians Astudillo is in Rochester.

[USAFChief]

It’s the roster spot that Cron, Cruz, Austin occupy. That’s why Adrianza is your option and a bad option for Sano insurance. Thats my point. If the club keeps Cron and Austin for 1B and DH. It eliminates the 25 man roster spot to provide Sano insurance from the DH position or elsewhere.

Signing Cruz is great because the guy can hit but it forces Cron or Austin elsewhere.

Cruz signs... Cron or Austin has to go and we are still a bad slide from Adrianza playing 3B everyday in May and hitting 1 homerun during that time and you’ve gained nothing.

Cruz can hit... I love him but DH only players have roster implications as a result every single time. DH only spots will hit you somewhere else at some point unless two things happen. Everybody stays healthy or you design your roster with flexibility.

If you drop Adrianza or Cron and sign Murphy to a contract. Go ahead and sign Cruz. I’ll stay quiet and smile because you have yourself covered for all eventualities and you can absorb the DH only roster spot.

Thia team has too many rebound hopes with big question marks on their foreheads.

If you sign Murphy, you’re still one bad slide from Adrianza playing every day.

[Nick Nelson]

 

Four starting outfielders? Two first basemen?

You sign Cruz because the middle of your batting order is missing.

I could care less if that means Austin isn’t on the roster, or Willians Astudillo is in Rochester.

How sure are we that a 38-year-old Cruz outhits an Austin/Cave platoon at DH by a significant margin? I know which scenario yields vastly more long-term benefit to the club, while keeping as much money as possible free to spend on pitching.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Cruz can still hit. Based on last seasons statistics he'd rank 2nd in owar behind Rosario.

 

FYI, oWAR includes the positional adjustment, so it is heavily penalizing Cruz for being a DH.

 

If you really want to compare just hitting, use Rbat at B-Ref, where Cruz's 22 in 2018 dwarfs anything on the Twins (Escobar led with 11, Rosario had 6). Or better yet, a rate stat rather than a counting stat -- Cruz had a 135 OPS+ versus Escobar's 127 or Rosario's 115.

[Riverbrian]

 

If you sign Murphy, you’re still one bad slide from Adrianza playing every day.

 

Nope, Murphy could play 3B after the bad slide or Murphy could play 2B while Schoop plays 3B. 

 

Options my friend... Teams need options. 

[TheLeviathan]

I like signing Cruz....but that only makes the Cron acquisition more befuddling.  

[Riverbrian]

How sure are we that a 38-year-old Cruz outhits an Austin/Cave platoon at DH by a significant margin? I know which scenario yields vastly more long-term benefit to the club, while keeping as much money as possible free to spend on pitching.

I’m with ya to a point. I obviously have a different big picture fundamental issue with the DH only suggestion. However Cave and Astundillo can be stashed in Rochester.

 

Bottom line is Cruz with the bat produces. There is never a guarantee it continues to produce but he’s been doing it big time for a long time.

 

But you quickly give back your gains when rostering him forces Adrianza to 3B.

 

You can sign Cruz but you have to piggy back him with a flexible option like Murphy.

 

BTW... now you’ve added Cruz and Murphy. It should improve the offense and provide space for the core to develop.

 

Cruz with Adrianza backing up at third? Then I’m out.

[Dr. Evil]

Take the elite bat and ask questions later. Put him out in front of your young core to chase, emulate and learn from. Clearly it is needed. Coaching the kids up is only part of it. They need to see how a thoroughbred hitter goes about his business on a day to day basis.