Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
With Shin-Soo Choo signing a seven-year deal with the Texas Rangers on Saturday, Nelson Cruz has easily become the most prized outfielder still available on the free agent market. Cruz has been rumored to multiple teams all offseason with the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles emerging as two of the supposed front-runners in the Cruz sweepstakes.
While the Mariners are a perfect fit for Cruz’s brute power, the Orioles are a team that has no business acquiring another power bat. In case you have lived under a rock for the last two years, the Orioles already have this one behemoth slugger by the name of Chris Davis – perhaps you have heard of him? With 86 home runs in the last two seasons and 53 in the 2013 campaign alone, Baltimore would be better off using the money it would have used on Cruz to add depth at another position.
See: Shin-Soo Choo’s 7-Year Deal Makes Texas Rangers World Series Contenders
For example, the Orioles still have a huge void at closer as Jim Johnson is now with the Oakland Athletics after being dealt earlier in the offseason. Long story short; the Orioles might lead the league in home runs by signing Cruz, but that’s about it. If Baltimore general manager Dan Duguette is serious about winning then he will ignore Cruz and attack other alternatives with a price tag that is nearly half of Cruz’s.
Devin O’Barr is the Content Commentator for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DevinOBarrRS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
