Tampa Bay Rays acquire slugger Nelson Cruz from Minnesota Twins

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The lead-up to MLB’s annual trade deadline doesn’t really heat up until the first big deal is made. 

That happened on Thursday when the Tampa Bay Rays swung a deal to acquire slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins. 

The Rays, who lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in last fall's World Series, add significant pop to their lineup with the addition of Cruz, who entered Thursday night’s action hitting .294 with a .907 OPS, 19 home runs and 50 RBIs.

Cruz is a six-time All-Star – including this season – a career .278 hitter and a veteran known as a clubhouse leader. 

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Cruz's 436 home runs rank 46th all-time and trail only Albert Pujols (675, fifth all-time) and Miguel Cabrera (494, 28th all-time) among active players. He is also a proven postseason performer, hitting .288 with 17 home runs across 46 career playoff games.

In exchange for Cruz, the Rays sent minor league pitchers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman to Minnesota. Another minor league pitcher, Calvin Faucher, is heading to Tampa Bay with Cruz in the deal. According to Jeff Passan on ESPN, both teams should come away happy with the trade.

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Cruz, 41, reacted to the trade positively, saying that he is "hunting for a ring."

Tampa Bay entered Thursday’s game at 57-39 and trailing the Boston Red Sox by one game in the AL East. The Rays’ offense ranks seventh in MLB with 4.9 runs per game, but their power numbers reside more in the middle of the pack, ranking 15th in home runs (117) and 16th in slugging percentage (.397).

The addition of Cruz figures to solve that. 

And while Cruz is primarily a designated hitter who has not played a game in the outfield since 2018 with the Seattle Mariners, the Rays’ defense is already top-notch, ranking third in MLB according to Fangraphs.com.

The trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on July 30, so it will be interesting to see how other postseason contenders respond to the Rays’ big move.

The trade certainly sparked excitement across the MLB world. Here is a sampling.

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