MLB rumors: Yankees FA spoiled contract, Manfred called out, more
By Josh Wilson
With the All-Star game behind us, we’re just days away from MLB games that matter returning. MLB rumors continue to come through. Here’s the latest roundup.
The All-Star game on Tuesday night featured an electric, history-making MVP winner. With the festivities behind us, it’s right back to the grind on MLB rumors with the trade deadline just a few weeks away.
Nelson Cruz is not ready to retire
After Nelson Cruz was DFA’d and subsequently released by the San Diego Padres, it sure looked like the 43-year-old was going to get forced into retirement. Not so fast, though, according to his wishes, anyway.
According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN, Cruz has no hopes to hang up the cleats just yet and fully plans on continuing to play.
The timeline for Cruz to sign with a new team likely falls between August 2 and until playoff rosters are set. With Cruz’s recent struggles in mind, teams won’t be lining up to sign him before they know what their needs are after the trade deadline on August 1.
This year’s deadline might work out perfectly for the designated hitter, though. With more and more teams joining the “buyer” category, it’s possible prices will be too high for teams that need bats to look to the trade market.
Cruz was a below-average 90 in OPS+ last year and an 81 this year. He’ll need to be more effective than that to convince a team to sign him and then get meaningful opportunities at the plate.