Now’s the Time to Trade Nelson Cruz to this AL Team

Logical fit and honestly the Twins can and SHOULD include cash given TB's payroll constraints. TB has so many legit prospects they have trouble keeping them all on their 40man roster! Getting 1 or 2 guys with some high upside or low level top 100 guy like Shane Baz for Cruz should be doable.

I think Tampa's situation is such that they have too many guys for their positions already, and they love having flexibility.  Yes, they looked at Cruz prior to 2019, but three seasons of roster make-up has occurred since.  Would he improve their DH numbers?  Yes.  Would he improve their team?  That's not as certain.

I would think a more traditional team would look at Cruz, maybe the Red Sox, who could move JDM to right, or the Yankees, who will have enough injuries to justify it.  But it is a tough sell, unfortunately.

This is definitely a well thought out concept and article!

As anemic as the Tampa offense is Cruz could have an OPS of 1.000 with Tampa and zero RBI unless the bases happened to be loaded.

Tampa has scored 302 runs, second in the AL, and 3rd in the majors.

7 hours ago, twinstalker said:

I think Tampa's situation is such that they have too many guys for their positions already, and they love having flexibility.  Yes, they looked at Cruz prior to 2019, but three seasons of roster make-up has occurred since.  Would he improve their DH numbers?  Yes.  Would he improve their team?  That's not as certain.

I would think a more traditional team would look at Cruz, maybe the Red Sox, who could move JDM to right, or the Yankees, who will have enough injuries to justify it.  But it is a tough sell, unfortunately.

JDM is not to be put in the field.  The Red Sox are one team I just can't imagine buying Cruz.

Very interesting article,Cody! It makes sense now that we're basically out of it and TB could be an interesting trade partner.  I'm sure they are looking at trading many other players without shame of absolute tanking.

We too have a very big 40 man problem. With the flood of possible prospects, the loss of very good prospects will occur. 

Oakland could be a trade partner too. They've struggled to get anything out of DH from Moreland and Lowrie.

Good point about Oakland dbminn.  But I think Tampa is the BEST fit.  And I agree with Seansy, pay Cruz's salary for the rest of this season in full if it will upgrade the one or two prospects the Twins would receive in return.  That money was already budgeted for 2021...pay it and upgrade the talent level.  The current group of mis-fit toys needs competition !

The issue with Tampa is they will not give up much of value for him.  Unless we get a bidding war in trades for Cruz I do not expect much in return for him.  He may have some interest but at best we will be getting a low level prospect that hopefully will be a diamond in the rough. 

Agree that it doesn't feel like a Tampa type move but could see a trade to  Oakland.  Then they have a platoon option for Moreland. Twins would have to send cash.

The Rays have traded solid prospects at the deadline like Jesus Sanchez and Genesis Cabrera in recent years. There will need to be some sense of urgency and demand. Would that urgency be more likely near the deadline?

Way too early to abandon ship and hit the panic button IMO.

Now is not the time. Maybe 45 days from now, but I think I am taking the other side of the argument and keeping him. He is the main mentor among the players in the clubhouse. We most obviously need all the mentors we can get. I'm looking for some meaningful, move the needle trades. Trading Cruz doesn't bring us help next year. 

Why would Tampa replace a younger player  OPSing .872 that actually has a little positional flexibility with an almost 41 year old player OPSing .858?  We will get very little for Cruz...and I highly doubt it will be from Tampa Bay.  They have shown over the years that they are probably the smartest front office in baseball....

If Cruz is "mentoring" all these players, why aren't the results there?  Polanco, Kepler, and especially Sano haven't shown any improvement...Frankly, I think the "mentoring" thing is way overrated...

The Rays have only gotten 3 home runs from their first basemen.  Package Cruz and Sano for some prospects (any prospects).

I might have missed it but I did not see any reasons as to why he needs to be traded now as opposed to later.

20 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

The Rays have only gotten 3 home runs from their first basemen.  Package Cruz and Sano for some prospects (any prospects).

That could make sense IF Sano gains consistency between now and the deadline and they continue to get low production from first base and the twins are willing to eat a significant part of his salary.  I would like to find a package the Ray's like for Brujan has is ready to debut.  Maybe a 3 team team trade.  He could take over for Simmons right now and he has a 949 OPS at AAA.  The Rays have Franco waiting in the wings so they could move Brujan.

36 minutes ago, spycake said:

Brujan isn't even remotely possible as a target. He's the #22 prospect in MLB, per Fangraphs. Baseball Trade Values isn't gospel, but it pegs his median trade value at +41, compared to -18 (that's negative 18) for Sano. I don't think there's anything that Sano could do in less than 2 months to make up that gap, even if the Twins ate the full salary.

Mancini from BAL would be a better target. Trade value +20, Tampa could probably get him without giving up Brujan too. (They could also just buy a 1B glove for Brujan, he has played just about everywhere else so far at AAA.)

I did not articulate where I was going with the 3 team scenario.  I would not suggest Sano would being even close for Brujan.  I was thinking sending assets which might include Berrios or even Buxton to a 3rd team who sent assets to Tampa to make it work.  It's a pipedream.  I was really just making the point I would love to get Brujan!   That's the kind of scenario where it makes sense to move Berrios or Buxton.  Damn TB with him and Franco and they signed Brujan for $15K.  People complain because we don't sign more $3M+ guys when we have a few and none of them have really panned out.  I want to see the Twins find a couple of these gems for nothing.

Tampa doesn’t seem like the team to take on a veteran contract, even if it’s only for part of the season. 
 

Just a friendly note: I found the click-baity headline of this thread a little off putting. 

Saw Brujan play this week in Durham. Looked good at the plate, impressive speed, playing predominantly OF. Would love to have him but it would take a heavier package to land Buxton. Another kid that looked the part was centerfielder Josh Lowe though Norfolk hung 5 K's on him Tuesday. Franco should be in the bigs now.

It is worth mentioning that you only need 2 teams competing for one player to get into a theoretical "bidding war" on a trade piece. Obviously the more buyers the better but between Oakland, TB, and even the White Sox with Yermin slumping badly this past month+ I think that is enough teams that would be interested in Cruz to get at least 1 top 100 prospect or multiple high upside guys. From what I'm seeing reading lots of baseball writers on the Twins trade pieces most of them seem to believe Cruz will fetch a good return even as a rental for the same reasons he's been such a great fit for the Twins.

We'll see what happens over the next couple of months but if a guy like Escobar with little track record can get a projectable young pitcher like Duran I don't see how Cruz can't get AT LEAST that if not significantly more.