Orioles, Nelson Cruz Should Keep Mutually Beneficial Relationship Intact

The stench wafting around Nelson Cruz at this time a year ago is completely gone now. There are no remnants, there is no more suspicion.

The tarnish stuck on him after he accepted a 50-game suspension in August of last year as a result of the league’s Biogenesis investigation has faded. The “cheater” label never really attached itself, and while the suspension was a dark spot on his resume, he is not seen in the same light as Alex Rodriguez or Ryan Braun.

Cruz is once again a valuable, desired commodity. He is one of the great power hitters in Major League Baseball, something of a dying breed in this age of power pitching. And many teams are willing to pay a pretty penny to have a bat like Cruz’s in their lineup.

The Baltimore Orioles are in that group. On the same day the team signed All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy to a three-year extension, FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reported the team is hoping to also re-sign Cruz.

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Sources: #Orioles also pushing to complete deal with Cruz, who recently changed agents, signing with Relativity Sports.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 9, 2014"

FoxSports.com’s Jon Morosi also reported that Orioles general manager Dan Duquette and Cruz’s agents met this week, furthering the notion that the Orioles do not want Cruz to even test the free-agent market.

As of Thursday, though, Cruz declined to acknowledge if any progress was being made as the Orioles get read to host the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

“Nothing’s going on right now,” Cruz told Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. “Early we were talking, but nothing’s going on right now.”

The Orioles got Cruz on the cheap in February—one year for $8 million—because he was coming off of the suspension and teams were either unwilling to touch him or too concerned about how natural his numbers had been while with the Texas Rangers. In his final five seasons with the Rangers, Cruz hit 135 home runs and slugged .511 with an .842 OPS and made two All-Star teams, including last year just weeks before he accepted his suspension.

The Orioles made the call to add Cruz, who had draft-pick compensation attached to him, and they were rewarded. Cruz led the majors in home runs (40), drove in 108 runs and had an .859 OPS and 140 OPS+.

There has also been Cruz’s postseason performance, which is putting him in rare company. So far through three games this year, Cruz is hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two homers, five RBIs and four runs scored. For his career, Cruz’s .710 slugging percentage is tied for eighth all-time with Hank Aaron.

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Nelson Cruz becomes absolutely Ruthian in October. http://t.co/pcEpaquQ8D pic.twitter.com/f3tNAzEvR3

— Brian Costa (@BrianCostaWSJ) October 7, 2014"

Because of his performances in the regular season and playoffs, which should ease concerns about possible artificial numbers posted in Texas, Cruz is in line for a big-money extension. If Cruz, 34, does make it to free agency after the World Series, the Orioles will definitely make him a qualifying offer—one year for $15.3 million—and attach a draft pick to him for any other team that might sign him.

Cruz, who earlier this week switched agencies to Relativity Sports, has said he would like to stay with the Orioles, but Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports the New York Yankees will be in on Cruz if he hits free agency. The Rangers might also be interested again since they’d like to pair Cruz’s right-handed bat with Prince Fielder’s left-handed one.

The thing that might lean Cruz toward re-signing with the Orioles is that the draft pick attached will be a deterrent, as will his age and the fact that teams see him as more of a designated hitter than an everyday outfielder. The last thing Cruz wants to do is overestimate his worth on the open market and go through another winter of uncertainty, so a multi-year deal with Baltimore might be his best option.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

If that happens, Cruz is probably limited to a three- or four-year deal and an average annual value between $14-17 million. That seems reasonable. If a team knew Cruz would produce the numbers he has this season, they would gladly pay annually within that range. As it stands, $8 million is a bargain.

If Cruz can continue to produce at or near the rate he has this season for two of those years, the deal is probably worth the money for the Orioles, a team that now has Hardy, center fielder Adam Jones, catcher Matt Wieters and third baseman Manny Machado under team control for multiple seasons. Chris Davis and Steve Pearce can become free agents after next season.

If this is what it will cost the Orioles, and if they can get it done before Cruz hits free agency, they should. It gives them a solid middle of the order for the next few seasons and cost certainty for that part of the lineup without having to completely bust open the piggy bank.

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News, and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.