Report: Nelson Cruz, Nationals Agree to 1-Year Contract amid Dodgers, Padres Rumors

Nelson Cruz isn't ready to give up the longball just yet.

The veteran slugger agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals on Sunday, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, with Cruz coming back for his 18th MLB season.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN reported Cruz will have a $12 million salary in 2022, and his deal includes a mutual option—with a $3 million buyout—for the 2023 season:

This comes one day after Rojas reported the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers were among eight teams pursuing the slugger. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Sunday morning that Cruz was expected to decide between the Dodgers and Padres.

However, he will reportedly be taking his talents to the nation's capital now.

Of course, Cruz's market had expanded this month after the universal DH was implemented in the new collective bargaining agreement.

Cruz, 41, spent the 2021 season with the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. He hit .265/ .334/.497 with 32 home runs and 86 runs batted in, the seventh straight full season he's hit over 30 home runs. (Cruz hit 16 homers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.)

An All-Star only once before his 30th birthday, Cruz made his sixth post-30 All-Star team last season. He was also the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award for his work providing dentistry and optometry to Las Matas de Santa Cruz in his native Dominican Republic.

"I never was doing what I was doing to be recognized or win awards, but it's always nice when people recognize the work that you put on to help others," Cruz said of the award. "I know all 29 other players that were nominated really deserved to win it. I just thank God that I was the one."

Cruz has hit 449 home runs and driven in 1,238 runs over the course of his career. He'll continue playing a DH-only role in 2022. He's only played one game in the last three seasons in the field.