MLB Free Agency: Nelson Cruz might have to settle for short-term deal

While it’s not clear if Major League teams are concerned about Nelson Cruz‘s production coming off a PED suspension or just the stigma attached to a guy who recently served a suspension, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that teams simply are not interested in signing Cruz long term.

Using PEDs cost Cruz 50 games in 2013, and now it might have put him in a position where he will not be able to cash in big as a free agent. Cafardo writes:

"Would a one-year pillow contract be best for Cruz? That’s what a few general managers we spoke to seem to think. Some of the rumored four-year deals at $75 million don’t seem to make sense for a player coming off a PED suspension. It seems Cruz needs to reestablish his value.”"

My favorite thing about Cruz’s career is the numbers he used to put up in the minor leagues. Take his 2008 season in Triple-A for example: .342/.429/.695. He also hit 37 home runs and drove in 99 – that was in 103 games.

From the moment he was called up to the big leagues he raked, never hitting fewer than 20 home runs; when he stays healthy, that number is usually closer to 30. So teams might be treading cautiously with Cruz, but I hardly think it’s because they’re worried he won’t hit. It has to be all the other baggage that comes with a PED suspension these days.