Links are beginning to emerge between Nelson Cruz and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Both Jon Heyman and Jeff Passan suggested the Blue Jays as a potential landing spot for the Minnesota Twins DH early this week. Alongside the Mariners, Passan pointed to Toronto as a "team worth keeping an eye on," for Cruz, while Heyman listed the team as one of three potential landing spots.
Though Toronto's primary need is still run prevention, Cruz could pose an affordable option to add another big bat to Toronto's top offense. With a thin starting pitching market and internal options to address the bullpen (Nate Pearson, Julian Merryweather) adding more offense could be the most efficient way to improve Toronto's playoff hopes.
“We have to think about winning," GM Ross Atkins said Tuesday. "It’s not just as simple as preventing more runs.”
Some of the market's top sluggers, like Texas lefty Joey Gallo, could cost more than one of an organization's top prospects, but Passan suggests Cruz's price should be lower than other impact talents.
"Because of his limited positionality," Passan wrote. "Cruz will cost the least of all the impact talent available."
The Blue Jays don't have an everyday designated hitter, as Cruz would be, but they use the DH spot to cycle through their four outfielders and give rest days to important bats like Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. It may be difficult to slot Cruz in at first glance, but Passan suggests the slugger could be a backup plan if the team misses out on some top pitching targets.
Cruz would immediately become one of the best hitters on the Blue Jays, posting a .299 batting average and .921 OPS for the struggling Twins in 2021. With 19 homers in just 83 games, finding ways to keep all of Toronto's top bats in the lineup with a full-time DH like Cruz would be a good problem to have.
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