With a week left before the 2021 trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays made a huge splash on Thursday, acquiring prodigious slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins as part of a four-player trade. Cruz and right-handed prospect Calvin Faucher will head to Tampa Bay, while Minnesota will pick up right-handers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.
Cruz became a natural trade chip with the Twins in the throes of a nightmare season and since he will be a free agent this winter. Cruz re-signed with Minnesota last offseason, inking a one-year, $13-million contract. He has roughly $4.87-million remaining in salary owed.
It’s safe to assume that Cruz will slot in as Tampa Bay’s primary designated hitter — bringing some thunder to a lineup that is solid overall, yet middle-of-the-pack in terms of power. They currently rank seventh in runs per game, despite ranking 25th in batting average.
In spite of Cruz’s age and, frankly, lack of defensive value, his bat remains potent, with the slugger hitting .294 BA/.370 OBP/.537 SLG/.907 OPS over 346 plate appearances in 2021, with 19 homers and a 141 wRC+. This production is actually a dropoff from the .308 BA/.394 OBP/.626 SLG/1.020 OPS line he posted across 735 plate appearances from 2019-20 with the Twins, yet, it is still a far cry from what one might consider truly declining production. More importantly, though, the Rays needed a southpaw mashing hitter, and they got just that in Cruz, who’s slashed .362 BA/.410 OBP/.600 SLG/1.010 OPS with six home runs, a .238 ISO, a 10.6, wRAA, .422 wOBA, and a 171 wRC+ against left-handed hurlers this season.
I’m 41, so definitely hunting for a World Series championship. I want to be part of a championship team, and hopefully, I can contribute to get that done for the Rays.
— Nelson Cruz
Danny Russell (DRaysBay) also gives pause to anyone questioning whether Cruz’s “advanced” age might negatively impact his bat over the final 65 games of the season, and heading into the postseason.
Don’t let his age fool you. Among major league hitters, Nelson Cruz is in the 98th percentile for Max Exit Velocity, 95th for Avg Exit Velocity, 94th in HardHit%, 93rd in xwOBA, 92nd in xSLG, 86th in Barrel%, and 70th in strikeouts. He’s simply one of the best and has already spoken about playing in 2022 when his contract is up.
— Danny Russell
Austin Meadows had received the bulk of the Rays’ DH at-bats this season, although he now figures to move into the outfield mix with Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, and Manuel Margot. Between any other injuries or even trades that could emerge, Tampa Bay shouldn’t have any issue in finding enough playing time to keep everyone fresh and ready for another playoff push.
The DH spot is not for everybody. The total of our numbers out of the DH spot haven’t been what you’d like to have. This is someone that has lived in that spot, has been able to succeed in that spot. It’s not for everybody, but he’s done it.
— Erik Neander
Tampa Bay’s payroll is still under $67-million, and the Rays can (and likely will) make other moves before deadline day in order to bolster a roster that looks again to be a World Series contender.
If anything though, this deal sends a clear message to anyone questioning whether Tampa Bay can win the division and what their motivations might be: they are willing to make the necessary moves to win a championship.
We were in the World Series last year, and we made a few decisions over the winter that were really difficult decisions. The way that they’ve played put us in a position to believe that an add like this could raise our expectations to at least where they were last year. That’s why we did it. And to do it on July 22 affords us the time to continue working at other (trade) possibilities that may or may not be out there, but this was certainly a big one for us to jump on here.
— Erik Neander