Reports: Nelson Cruz to Sign With Mariners
Nelson Cruz is headed back to the AL West and out of the Red Sox’ hair.
The former Baltimore outfielder has agreed to a deal with the Seattle Mariners, according to multiple media reports on Monday. ESPNdeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas reports that the contract is for four years and $57 million.
Cruz spent the first eight full seasons of his big league career with the Texas Rangers, where he was a two-time All-Star and hit .268 with 157 home runs and 489 RBIs. He has averaged 33 homers and 100 RBIs per year over his nine-year career.
Cruz was suspended in 2013 as a part of the Biogenesis scandal and missed the Rangers’ final 50 regular season games, though he did appear in their postseason tiebreaker against Tampa Bay, a 5-2 loss to the Rays.
He became a free agent after the season and did not sign until Spring Training, when he inked a one-year, $8 million deal with the Orioles. That contract turned out to be a steal for the O’s, as the 34-year-old had the best offensive season of his career, belting 40 homers and driving in 108 runs to help the Orioles win their first AL East crown since 1997 and reach the ALCS.
In 41 career postseason games, Cruz has hit .292 with 16 homers and 34 RBIs. He was named 2011 ALCS MVP after hitting .364 with six home runs and 13 RBIs in six games, and played in two World Series with the Rangers.
Few in the AL East will be happier to see Cruz out of the division than the Red Sox. In 19 games against the Sox last season, Cruz hit .338 with four home runs and 15 RBIs.
Cruz will join a Mariners team that handed out a massive deal to Robinson Cano last offseason and just extended Kyle Seager to a contract worth $100 million. The M’s hit a total of 136 home runs last year, the sixth lowest in the American League; those numbers should get a boost with the insertion of Cruz into the lineup.
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