MLB Rumors: Nelson Cruz Drawing Interest from Padres; 42-Year-Old Hit 10 HR in 2022

The San Diego Padres are among the teams interested in free-agent slugger Nelson Cruz, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Cruz, a seven-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, will turn 43 years old on July 1. He had 10 home runs, 64 RBI, a .234 batting average and .651 OPS in 124 games for the Washington Nationals last season.

The year before, Cruz posted 32 home runs with 86 RBI and an .832 OPS for the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins.

His best stretch occurred in the latter half of his career, when he had a per-162-game average of 46 home runs and 115 RBI with a .933 OPS from 2015 to 2020, per Baseball-Reference.

For his career, Cruz has posted an .859 OPS alongside 459 homers and 1,302 RBI.

As Heyman noted, Padres general manager A.J. Preller and Cruz know each other from their time in Texas.

Preller worked in the front office from 2004 to 2014, while Cruz played for the Rangers from 2006 to 2013. The Rangers won the American League twice (2011, 2012) during that span.

Cruz became a free agent this offseason after the Nats bought his contract out for $3 million. However, he said in a radio appearance on Grandes en los Deportes (h/t Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors) that he's received offers for next year.

"Cruz said in a radio appearance on Grandes en los Deportes in his native Dominican Republic that he's already received formal offers for the 2023 season (Twitter link). As one would expect, Cruz did not reveal which team or teams have made him an offer, nor did he divulge additional details on the nature of said offers."

Left eye inflammation hindered Cruz's recent performance, and he spoke with Jessica Camerato of MLB.com about it in October.

Despite issues with his left eye last year, Cruz still fared well against left-handers, a trend throughout his whole career (.939 OPS). He had a .727 OPS versus southpaws as opposed to .611 against right-handers.

If he returns closer to his 2021 form, then Cruz could be a huge addition for the Padres, who are looking to improve upon their finish as the National League runner-up last year.

They got that far despite missing star infielder Fernando Tatis Jr. for the entire season (broken wrist, violation of MLB's PED policy). Now they've added four-time All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts via free agency from the Boston Red Sox to the mix.

San Diego also added a resurgent Matt Carpenter, who had 15 home runs and a .305 batting average in 47 games for the New York Yankees last year after hitting just .176 in 2020 and 2021 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Carpenter and Cruz could be a deadly duo at designated hitter for an already stacked lineup for the Padres, who should be in the mix for the NL pennant once again. Cruz could also step in as DH if Carpenter, a utility fielder, is called upon for defense.