3 teams that should sign Nelson Cruz once the lockout ends
By Tim Boyle
Nelson Cruz free agent destination: Los Angeles Dodgers
Never count out the Los Angeles Dodgers when it comes to any free agent. They find ways to make everyone fit. Having already lost several notable free agents such as Corey Seager, Max Scherzer, and possibly Clayton Kershaw next, the perennial win-now Dodgers club isn’t going to begin the season by punting the DH spot.
Cruz and the Dodgers are a match for a couple of reasons. With no obvious and trusted candidate on the roster to take on the challenge of being the team’s everyday DH in 2022, they will need to look outside of the organization for someone like this. They could make it work with what they already have but when have the Dodgers done this?
He shouldn’t be chasing money at this point in his career. It’s a World Series ring he should be after. Who better to get him there than the team that always seems to at least get to the postseason?
His postseason history topped out with back-to-back trips to the World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011. In the 2011 ALCS, he was the team’s MVP when he powered his team to the next round against the Detroit Tigers. Cruz blasted six home runs and drove in 13 for the Rangers. The epic seven-game series versus the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t result in any rings on his finger. More than ten years later now, he’s still seeking a return to baseball’s finale.
The Dodgers, with all of their might, could help get Cruz there and help send him into the sunset when the season is through.