Nelson Cruz Inks $57M Contract With Seattle Mariners
Free agent Nelson Cruz has recently inked a four-year deal worth $57 million with the Seattle Mariners, a source with knowledge of the agreement claimed.
The USA Today source said that the deal has already been signed but the parties are still determining when to announce it. The same report said that this new deal maintains the "huge financial push" for the team with it sealing long-term contracts since last year.
It has been earlier reported that Cruz was set to join the Mariners a year after he became a free agent but talks did not push through as he chose to go with the one-year $8 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles where he performed his best making 40 home runs and leading his team to advance to the American League Championship Series.
USA Today said that the presence of Cruz in the team will give them the "right-handed power bat" that they have been clamoring for.
In a similar report, ESPN said that Cruz will be a big offensive contributor to the Mariners, a team which finished tied at 11th in the American League and ranked last among the 15 AL clubs. With this recent agreement with Cruz, it has been reported that the Mariners are also discussing trade for Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes to aide Cruz in scoring big for the team.
Acquiring Cruz, according to Yahoo Sports, should not be the end game for the Mariners as it noted that Cruz will not be able to play the outfield.
"He's 34 and coming off the season he had, Cruz is ripe for regression," the Yahoo Sports report added.
Yahoo Sports also noted that "Cruz's second half in 2014 wasn't as great as finals stats would have you believe."
Looking at his previous performance, Yahoo added that Cruz is just one of the players needed by the team to step up their game but he is definitely the go-to player of the team. The Mariners, however, should keep looking for other players if it really wants to improve this eason.
"Neither of their projected corner outfielders were particularly productive with the bat in 2014. As things stand now, they'd likely start the year with Dustin Ackley in left (who made some nice defensive plays, but hit just .245) and James Jones in right (who's fast, but not a particularly great hitter). They have Michael Saunders too, but he's been mentioned in trade talks recently," Yahoo Sports added.
But he can surely help the Mariners do better this season for it to be able to make the playoffs which it missed for the first time since 2001. When the deal has finally been announced, people will expect more from Cruz and from the team which acquired and believed in his talents.