Am I crazy for thinking Cruz has no real trade value?

[BritishTwinsFan]

I keep seeing things on Twitter about "Well at least we will get prospects for Nelson Cruz Et Al" and thinking that is really naive. 

Even setting aside his age, the increased leaguewide value placed on prospect capital, I can't see the Twins getting anything more than a really low level prospect. 

 

Right off the bat you can rule out half the teams because no NL team will touch him. I've seen people suggest he could fill in a pinch hitting role but I don't think that is realistic. The obvious comp is Sandoval with the Braves but the key difference is that Sandoval can, in theory, play the field. He has done in every season he has played which means he isn't a one sided bench piece. Cruz hasn't fielded since 2018 and even then it was limited. Even with the outfield calamity this season Cruz hasn't been called into at least an innings worth of action. So for an NL team to use him as a pinch hitter they give up two bench pieces in one. Cruz to hit and then someone else to come in and play the field, 8 spots away from a hitting appearance. I don't think that is feasible. 

So then you just have the AL. Tampa and Cleveland philosophy is to just sneak into the playoffs and see what happens so won't want to buy. The Blue Jays and White Sox are projected enough light fielding depth by August and September to not need Cruz. Boston and Houston get production from their DH position. The Yankees have Stanton, a lack of outfield depth, and no money under the luxury tax so they are out. That leaves Oakland who also don't fit the buyers profile and have the 26th ranked farm system. 

Another thing that doesn't bode well is that Cruz entered free agency, could talk to all 30 teams (at a time where universal DH was a possibility) and still ended up with the Twins while also earning less money. It makes it look like the rest of the league aren't really interested in what he has to offer. Hence any return to the Twins will be a prospect who would be a really longshot prospect. 

With his role as a rolemodel and in Twins marketing I can imagine a world where the front office decides he is more valuable as a mentor and fan favourite. With uncertainty about the CBA and no fans last year they must be aware that the whole window could be jeopardized if Target Field can't bring in fans this season to make money. 

[Danchat]

He has some value, just not a ton. Tampa and Toronto make a ton of sense as buyers.

It appears Tampa will be on board acquiring Cruz, perhaps if we eat a bit of his salary.

[Otto von Ballpark]

8 hours ago, Danchat said:

He has some value, just not a ton. Tampa and Toronto make a ton of sense as buyers.

It appears Tampa will be on board acquiring Cruz, perhaps if we eat a bit of his salary.

I saw that tweet too, but I don’t know that Cruz makes that much sense for Tampa and Toronto right now. Once Springer comes back, both clubs will have 4 outfielders they like that they rotate through the DH spot.

Especially with Cruz’s lack of results at the plate the past month, I worry that we’d have to eat enough salary and/or take back a marginal enough prospect to make this topic title substantially true.

[bighat]

If Cruz can right the ship and start tearing the cover off the ball again, his value will be as high as it's been the past couple years. He just needs one of those weeks where he hits 3-4 HR and that'll be enough for someone to want him.

The Twins are waiting for Cruz to have one of those weeks before the deadline. I'm guessing that if he does get hot, the Twins will look to move him quickly.

 

[Rosterman]

With all the players that could be available? Little! Berrios or Pineda, maybe. But Happ, Shoemaker, Cruz, Simmons, Colome would be lucky to bring back a prospect in a club's 30-100 range.

 

Quite frankly, you would do a trade to eliminate salary for this year and open up a position.

 

Of course, no one ever knows how a prospect may pan out. But the reality, looking at players today, is that most teams would look at Twins free agents as someone the Twins would designate and they would claim (or work out a trade), or just pick up for a pro-rated portion of the salary, if the Twins would go that route.

 

Of course, if any of the free-agents-to-be start to get hot, you gotta strike when the market may be up...even a tad!

[Vanimal46]

Oakland is about the only AL team without a decent option at DH. There’s definitely an argument he has more value here mentoring the young guys and taking competitive plate appearances vs. the lottery ticket in a trade return.