:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68761023/1278054373.0.jpg)
Rumors of a big move have been blowing through Twins territory for a bit, and now we have a move to talk about. The Twins and designated hitter Nelson Cruz have agreed to a one-year deal.
Jeff Passan appears to have been on it first, followed shortly by Dan Hayes.
Designated hitter Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a one-year contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 3, 2021
Cruz, 40, has been a linchpin of the Bomba Squad Twins' lineup. And he'll be back right in the middle of it in 2021.
Sources: Nelson Cruz signs one-year deal with the #MNTwins is worth $13 million.
— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) February 3, 2021
Most of the pertinent details are in the two tweets above. Hayes says that Cruz will be making $13 million, which still leaves the Twins room to add an impact arm or two somewhere. That sits smack in the middle of the range Cruz was expected to receive, and earlier reports had suggested the years were the sticking point.
Cruz will again likely serve as the Twins’ DH, and bat somewhere near the middle of the order. Perhaps more importantly, it returns a veteran leader and well-regarded member of the clubhouse to the Twins, and their napping rooms.
How this impacts the deal the Twins were reported to have offered Marcell Ozuna is not certain, but we have to think the Twins are probably done adding position players, with the possible exception of a utility guy.
Either way, the Twins lineup just got a lot stronger, a couple weeks before camp. Hopefully more moves are coming and they are able to add pitchers in the upcoming days. We’ll be here when it happens, but for now—what do you think of the Cruz signing?