Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. – The San Diego Padres have reached an agreement for one season with Dominican designated hitter Nelson Cruz, 2 years, who will receive one million dollars.
Cruz is the most recent acquisition of the Padres, who also added Aruban shortstop Xander Bogaerts and first baseman Matt Carpenter. Last season Cruz played with the Washington Nationals.
He batted .234 with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs, in 124 games. After the end of the season, Cruz, a seven-time All-Star, underwent surgery to correct an eye anomaly.
Despite his performance with the Nationals, in his 18-season career in the Major Leagues, Cruz hit 459 home runs and is ranked 39th on the all-time list in that category.
He is from Las Matas de Santa Cruz and he has an average of 37 home runs per season. Cruz will join his compatriots Juan Soto and Manny Machado, with whom he played in Washington and Baltimore, respectively, and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Last season, the Padres were one step away from reaching the World Series, when they fell in the Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Cruz is part of the moves made by the team with the purpose of reaching the ‘Fall Classic’ in the next season.
Currently, Cruz is the general manager of the Dominican team that will compete in the World Baseball Classic, an event that will conclude before the start of the 2023 Major League Baseball season, on March 30th.
