Free Agent Market May Push Twins Away From Nelson Cruz

I think Twins FO is quietly hoping for universal DH so can get outbid for Cruz and diplomatically not sign him. I like Cruz for a one year contract, but want another SP in the range mentioned above, and another relief pitcher. Can't have too many pitchers, don't know if Twins have pitchers MLB ready in minors.

I think those are good points we definitely could get priced out on Cruz. I don't think the FO wants to spend much more than they have in the past for Cruz.  Cruz isn't getting younger so I can see why he wants a two year deal.  It was a two year deal that brought him to the Twins granted one was an option year.

Not sure what the bidding for Odo is but I find it doubtful that they would bring him back on a three year deal.  He always has trouble the third time through the order and last year was injured and he isn't exactly young for a pitcher either.  I think they get priced out there as well.

Ozuna just doesn't make sense given all the slow plodding hitters the Twins have currently and stacked in the system.

I don't see them going bullpen unless it is a lower priced one year deal as they have Colina and Chalmers pretty much ready to go and they I think they need to keep Gibaut and Waddell on the 40 man as well so they have options.  Ober would likely be used in relief as well so I don't see them being too worried when it comes to relief.

Paxton and Walker seem like possibilities if they come with one year deals.  Next year Twins might need to bring up Canterino, Duran and Balazovic so might need a spot or two next year anyway.  Also they could pitch in relief for the big club if absolutely needed.

With the exception of Cruz I think it is bargain time or they are done.  They will roll with what they have.

Signing Cruz seems somewhat insane.  Hasn't put them over the hump the last 2 years, keeps them from signing pitching, he's old and will decline rapidly & they have at least 3 young guys that would fit his role very nicely with maybe not the proven performance, but potentially very good performance.  1 man don't make a baseball team.

We could sign Cruz then make a low cost offer on Archer and sign a reliever like Kintzler or Clippard on the cheap

I want the position open for the young guys - Ozuna has not had a stellar career and I do not want us to invest in a one year career year when we have good options in Larnach, Rooker, Sano (Kiriloff should be in LF) and whoever is not catching. 

At this point as much as Nelson Cruz has been beloved by teammates, the front office and fans it just doesn't feel like a great fit anymore. He's been a stud the past two years and is entitled to expect one final big pay day but I couldn't fault the Twins either for drawing a line at one year at $12 million (totally speculating) for a 41 year old bat only player.

I'm admittedly developing too much of a crush over his 2017 and 2020 outlier seasons but to me Marcell Ozuna just feels like a slam dunk fit and I wouldn't hesitate to give him a 3 or 4 year contract. He's over 10 years younger than Cruz, still capable of playing some LF and holy hell his statcast numbers are sexy.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/marcell-ozuna-542303?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

.IF we have to choose. I Choose pitching. Im a huge Cruz fan, but if we are on a budget...we NEED another mid-level starting pitching depth. I honestly think the Twins can and should afford Cruz, another starter and 2 decent relievers. Cant understand why our payroll shouldn't be at least equal to last years. Are we trying to win the ws or make money. I just feel like so many mentions of us having the aprox 125 million limited payroll shouldn't be acceptable. But to each his own as they say.

I just believe many of us are setting our sights to low. I believe the Twins will sign Cruz And another starter And another reliever.

To Cody or others -- have there been any actual statements from the front office that lead us to the $125M that people keep quoting? Or is just a guess that people have speculated on, based on the notion that teams will spend less this year?

I've asked this on a thread or two, but haven't had anyone respond.

I just believe many of us are setting our sights to low. I believe the Twins will sign Cruz And another starter And another reliever.

I tend to agree with some of the sentiments above. If he doesn’t want to come back in a manner that helps the team make a run this year, move on.

Great player, but what has he gotten the Twins thus far? A nice stat line, a bunch of meaningless regular season wins, and another string of embarrassing playoff choke jobs.

You have to take a different approach at some point. Definition of insanity, etc. And now, the White Sox are leaving us in their dust trail.

At the end of the day, everyone likes to rip on the Ryan regime. But they were able to do something this regime hasn’t....win a playoff series (even a playoff game). The sample size is starting to grow, here. You only get a free pass for so long.

Frankly, I couldnt care less about sentimental, every loves Cruz, narratives. Either make some moves to get this thing over the hump or blow it up.

IMO Ozuna isn't an option. Don't you think that he's waiting to see if there's an universal DH too. If we can't afford Cruz we surely can't afford Ozuna if it's official.

The Twins made 3 offers to Cruz since October, it's time to move on maybe Ozuna would be a better fit as you can not force a horse to drink.

I’m a 1 year 8 million with a mutual option for year 2. Maybe you add a buy out for a million of 2 for year 2.

I’m ok walking away as long as it’s soon enough to bring in a starter like the big maple

They just signed him so there is that.