Nelson Cruz?

[NWinAZ]

Great point except for one big thing, what 25 year old with a track record like his is available to us? People act as if we had so many choices. You have to sign what is available and the trend now is mid-30's hitters.

Just looking at the past 2-3 years, look how much sluggers such as Pujols, Howard, Hamilton, Teixeira, and possibly now Fielder (guys that were hitting 40 HR just a few years ago) are aging in their 30s...not well.

The thing with comparisons? He isn't any of those guys. Pujols and Tex were breaking down, Fielder was 300 lbs, Hamilton had substance abuse problems. Cruz to date has had none of those issues. Will a 34 year old be better than he was at 27? Probably not. Will Cruz be better than Denorfia or Morales who he is replacing? Probably. Maybe his PED's will allow him to age well. It didn't hurt Bonds or McGwire or Sosa.

Risks are everywhere and sometimes you just have to dive in. I think I would be more worried about Cano and his 10 year, $240M deal, but I am not. Why? Because he will be better than whoever he replaced even if he fails in the end.

 

[seattlefan75]

we added a guy that drove in over 100 RBIs last season I can not be happier and 57million aint bad because if he were 30 years old that contract would be over 100million lets go M's

 

[NWinAZ]

we added a guy that drove in over 100 RBIs last season I can not be happier and 57million aint bad because if he were 30 years old that contract would be over 100million lets go M's

Amen!!!!

 

[Mariners_44]

we added a guy that drove in over 100 RBIs last season I can not be happier and 57million aint bad because if he were 30 years old that contract would be over 100million lets go M's

 

[dumbrabbit]

What's so bad about the years on the deal? If he were 30 it would have been a 10 year deal and $150M. $58M/4 years seems rather cheap for a guy who hit 40 HR/100 RBI.

 

[Thisnamewasntaken]

The same people complaining and saying this was a dumb move would be having a bigger fit if we shipped out Paxton/Walker. This FO has plenty of money. This was the lesser of the evils. The smart people understand this move, the risk and what it means for this team. It's been a long time coming but it seems that this FO might actually be starting to wake up.

 

[NWinAZ]

All players have negatives attached to them. Must ask yourself, 'Does he make us better?'. The answer is yes obviously so everyone enjoy him even if he doesn't make it all 4 years.

I purposed getting Bruce and someone argues, 'He strikes out too much'. So do our current players at his position, and they don't have half the production he is capable of. Life is a risk people, just enjoy the ride.

 

[PolarVortex]

A very compelling case is made here:

Why Nelson Cruz will fail spectacularly with the Mariners - SBNation.com

Not here to rain on your parade, but I'm not sold on this guy AT ALL.

That article was written by Grant Brisbee. Mr Brisbee is from the Bay Arrea and is a self-proclaimed 'avid' 49ers fan. Do you really think an 'avid' 49er fan who is also a sports writer is going to have anyting positive to say about a Seattle-based sports team? Get a clue.

Hey, maybe we can trade Cruz to the 49ers for Harbaugh.

 

[Cloud]

It's a great deal but I would probably love it even more if it was just a 2-3 year type. I have no gripe with the amount of money they gave him, maybe just the length of this contract.

 

[Cloud]

I like the look of that lineup. 3-4-5 look formidable.

3-4-5 does look formidable and if guys like Jackson and especially Ackley can get on base this season... look out. Ackley last year posted a career low for OBP, but made it up in the SLG department. Would just love to see him get on base on a more consistent basis.

 

[PolarVortex]

3-4-5 does look formidable and if guys like Jackson and especially Ackley can get on base this season... look out. Ackley last year posted a career low for OBP, but made it up in the SLG department. Would just love to see him get on base on a more consistent basis.

Jackson sucks. He's not much better than Jones and eating up $8.5 million more than Jones in payroll.

 

[Cloud]

Jackson sucks. He's not much better than Jones and eating up $8.5 million more than Jones in payroll.

Yeah, I agree... I think he was a disappointment after the trade last season. Either he under performed or he just flat out sucks.

 

[dude82]

It's a great deal but I would probably love it even more if it was just a 2-3 year type. I have no gripe with the amount of money they gave him, maybe just the length of this contract.

That 4th year is what allowed us to get him, otherwise he probably ends up back in Baltimore or somewhere other than Seattle unless we agreed to increase the amount of money included in the deal. Unfortunately, we're in a situation with free agent hitters where we either have to overpay or overextend to get the good ones. If we frontloaded the deal, the extra year shouldn't be an issue if his production falls off.

 

[Msfann]

I don't think Jones got enough playing time, guys like Smoak and Ackley got years and he got months if that. for a rookie he wasn't that bad.

 

[Podunkparte]

I don't think Jones got enough playing time, guys like Smoak and Ackley got years and he got months if that. for a rookie he wasn't that bad.

He started off fine but he was pretty damn bad up to the time we demoted him. We were also looking good in terms of a playoff race and couldn't afford to give him the rest of the year to struggle in the majors.

 

[unlvmariners]

I really liked what Jones brought to the team. Although I am not sure he is an everyday player yet. His development seems to be slow moving. I am interesting in seeing what happens with him down the road. You have to remember this is a guy that did not see much AAA time before he found himself in the bigs. With his skill set he needs to get on base more often, once on the base paths he can be dangerous.

Does anyone think he could be a possible trade candidate to sweeten a deal?

 

[NWinAZ]

I really liked what Jones brought to the team. Although I am not sure he is an everyday player yet. His development seems to be slow moving. I am interesting in seeing what happens with him down the road. You have to remember this is a guy that did not see much AAA time before he found himself in the bigs. With his skill set he needs to get on base more often, once on the base paths he can be dangerous.

Does anyone think he could be a possible trade candidate to sweeten a deal?

A National League team would love his speed. To Philly in a Bird deal? I am sure there are better deals out there but that came to mind.

 

[PolarVortex]

3-4-5 does look formidable and if guys like Jackson and especially Ackley can get on base this season... look out. Ackley last year posted a career low for OBP, but made it up in the SLG department. Would just love to see him get on base on a more consistent basis.

I bet we get more value out of the $58 million we spend on Cruz than the Rangers get out of the first $58 million they pay Sin Soo Choo.

I bet we get more value out of the $58 million we spend on Cruz than the Red Sox get out of the first $58 million they pay Pablo Sandoval.

I bet we get more value out of the $58 million we spend on Cruz than the Nationals got out of the first $58 million they paid Jason Werth.

I could keep going.

 

[StanMarsh51]

I bet we get more value out of the $58 million we spend on Cruz than the Rangers get out of the first $58 million they pay Sin Soo Choo.

I bet we get more value out of the $58 million we spend on Cruz than the Red Sox get out of the first $58 million they pay Pablo Sandoval.

I bet we get more value out of the $58 million we spend on Cruz than the Nationals got out of the first $58 million they paid Jason Werth.

I could keep going.

Werth's been paid $59M in the 4 years he's been in Washington, and so far he's hit .282 with a 126 OPS+ and 10.9 WAR. By comparison, only once in the past 4 years has Cruz put up an OPS+ of at least 126 (and that was obviously 2014). Don't know if it's that easy to predict that he'll provide more than Werth has.

 

[PolarVortex]

Werth's been paid $59M in the 4 years he's been in Washington, and so far he's hit .282 with a 126 OPS+ and 10.9 WAR. By comparison, only once in the past 4 years has Cruz put up an OPS+ of at least 126 (and that was obviously 2014). Don't know if it's that easy to predict that he'll provide more than Werth has.

I was thinking more off the stats you would find on the back side of Werth's baseball card: 50 homeruns and 171 RBI in the first $54 million of his contract. I'm pretty sure Cruz is going to eclipse that easily.

OPS+ is a good gauge but I don't put much stock in WAR. Even if Cruz only averages 110-115 OPS+ here, we win that signing.