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The Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday acquired Minnesota Twins veteran DH Nelson Cruz as part of a four-player deal. The Rays will also receive Calvin Fouchere from the minor right-handers in the trade, while junior right-handers Joe Ryan and Drew Strootman are headed to the Twins.
Cruz, 41, is back in production again at a high level despite his advanced age in baseball. This season, he hits .294/.370/.537 with 19 home runs in 85 games. This isn’t an aberration, as Cruise Rangers leaving via free agency after the 2013 season has put an OPS +150 while averaging 45 times per 162 games. It sits on 436 jobs at home. Cruz is eligible for free agency this season and owes a salary of $13 million for 2021.
The Rays are currently number two in the AL East and firmly in the wild card position in AL. As such, the ruling MLS champions are strong bets for a comeback post-season. Despite their success so far, they have struggled to get consistent production from the DH spot. In all, 11 different players circled through the center, and they combined for a 2021 slash of .219/.305/.389.
Cruz provides an immediate and significant upgrade. Meanwhile, Austin Meadows—the Rays’ primary DH before acquiring Cruz—can see time in corners of the court and occasionally spell Cruz against tough right-handers. As for Faucher, 25, he’s reached 4.64 ERA and 2.09 K/BB in parts from four minor league seasons. In 2021, he struggled through 19 relief matches with Double-A Wichita.
On the Minnesota side of things, Ryan, 25, is a former seventh with an ERA of 2.70 and a K/BB ratio of 6.06 in three seasons as part of the Rays system. Heading into 2020, Baseball America has named him the 98th player in all of baseball. Strotman, 24, was fourth in 2017, earning a 3.12 ERA and 2.38 K/BB over four minor seasons.
The Cruz deal signals a willingness on the part of the fourth-placed twins to sell off some productive veterans. According to recent reports, they may be less inclined to trade the players they control after the current season. Dealing with Cruz isn’t a reality either way because he was in his prime. Meanwhile, the Rays ramped up pressure on the number one Red Sox to do their own lap ahead of the July 30 deadline.
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Sources 2/ https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNic3Nwb3J0cy5jb20vbWxiL25ld3MvbWxiLXRyYWRlLWRlYWRsaW5lLXJheXMtYWNxdWlyZS12ZXRlcmFuLXNsdWdnZXItbmVsc29uLWNydXotZnJvbS10d2lucy1pbi1mb3VyLXBsYXllci1kZWFsL9IBggFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNzcG9ydHMuY29tL21sYi9uZXdzL21sYi10cmFkZS1kZWFkbGluZS1yYXlzLWFjcXVpcmUtdmV0ZXJhbi1zbHVnZ2VyLW5lbHNvbi1jcnV6LWZyb20tdHdpbnMtaW4tZm91ci1wbGF5ZXItZGVhbC9hbXAv?oc=5 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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