Could A’s get Cruz-type player in a trade?
The Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins made the first big trade market splash with an exchange that sent 41-year-old slugger Nelson Cruz to Tampa for two touted pitching prospects. Though the Oakland A’s weren’t likely to swing a trade for Cruz, it’s a blow to see a potential Wild Card opponent with a similarly low payroll add considerable power to their roster.
Though the offense helps buoy the team to a plus-42 run differential, it’s clear consistency from the A’s pitching staff and rotation in particular have kept the team afloat through a tough stretch that dates back before the All-Star break. The A’s could have used a hitter like Cruz. At age 41, he was batting .294 with a .907 OPS as the Minnesota Twins’ designated hitter with 19 home runs.
Those numbers would put Cruz as the batting average leader with
the second most home runs and second-highest OPS to All-Star Matt Olson. With the trade deadline a week away, the A’s could have been the jolt needed to spark a stagnant A’s offense that’s seen more major subtractions — think, Marcus Semien’s signing with the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency — than major additions.
Talent is carrying the team to postseason’s door for a fourth straight year, but it’s become clear that adding some difference makers to the roster at the deadline could help Oakland clear the hurdle between an early exit and long run. The A’s could have used a Nelson Cruz — and the idea was floated among front office decisionmakers — but they weren’t going to get a Nelson Cruz because it could have cost them some valuable prospects in a farm system that analysts regard as one of the worst in baseball.
The Twins got in return right-handed pitchers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman from Tampa, two of their top-20 prospects pitching in the rotation for their Triple-A Durham affiliate. Ryan, 25, is Tampa’s No. 10 prospect. Strotman, 24, is a St. Mary’s College alum who was reportedly a favorite in the Tampa organization. Their 17th-ranked prospect.
Acquiring Cruz also could have required the A’s to pay a chunk of the $13 million that remains on Cruz’s oneyear contract. A’s ownership rarely forks over cash to spend in any sort of excess for the on-field product — and with revenue sharing checks cut off this year, there was even smaller chance ownership would hand over money for Cruz.
That the A’s weren’t necessarily close to acquiring Cruz indicates that they might not make any big swings at the deadline. Though big bats on the trade block such as Texas Rangers’ outfielder Joey Gallo and Colorado Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story will be floated, the A’s don’t have the capital to match other teams. Though the A’s lost $11 million free agent Trevor Rosenthal to injury for the entire season, don’t expect the A’s to be on the market for a closer like Chicago Cubs’ Craig Kimbrel or the Texas Rangers’ Ian Kennedy.