When you think about people who have owned Chicago sports throughout the years, the leader has to be Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers for all of the torture he has caused the Chicago Bears. Right behind him has to be Nelson Cruz for the pain he has caused the Chicago White Sox.
Cruz has spent 17 seasons in Major League Baseball and has put together a very nice resume. It has been spent with the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, and Baltimore Orioles.
Over those years, he was an all-star seven times. He has been a Silver Slugger four times and has even been an ALCS MVP. It has really been an impressive run for him but the thing that makes him even more special is that he has gotten even better as he ages.
Cruz has dominated the Chicago White Sox in recent years. He has similar numbers vs everyone but it feels like he has dominated the White Sox because of the damage he has done from 2019 to 2021 with the Minnesota Twins.
The Chicago White Sox doesn’t have to deal with Nelson Cruz in 2022.
Now, the White Sox won’t have to deal with him in 2022 as he signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals. It is a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2023. That is a great deal for Cruz who is still playing at the age of 41 and will turn 42 in July.
It's Official: Nelson Cruz will earn $12 million in 2022 from the Washington #Nats with a $16 million option for 2023 or a $3 million buyout. So he's guaranteed $15 million
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 14, 2022
It is nice that the White Sox won’t have to face someone who is so successful against them playing in their division. There are great players in the division but Cruz seemed to go extra hard against the Sox.
It will be nice to see him play in the National League though because we can actually go back to enjoying his game. He is a very likable guy that plays the game hard. He deserves to continue getting chances in Major League Baseball.
Having the DH in the NL now is giving him an opportunity to extend his career. It also made it so that the Sox don’t have to deal with him as mentioned before. It would be a tragedy if he is traded back to the AL at the deadline but we will cross that bridge when we get there.