Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day, and trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end.
Say hey, baseball: Nelson Cruz is a great and horrible signing!
Your morning baseball includes opposing points of view for Nelson Cruz, the latest on Jon Lester, and more from around the league.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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You would think finding a designated hitter would be easy, but the Mariners haven’t been able to find a half-decent one since Edgar Martinez retired a decade ago, and this gaping hole in the lineup has only increased in size since 2010. They might have fixed that on Monday, however, by signing free agent Nelson Cruz to a four-year, $57 million deal. They’re a year late on bringing him in, but that doesn’t make this a dumb or bad move.
Well, okay, maybe it is a dumb move that will blow up in their faces starting in 2015. Historically, your Nelson Cruzs have not aged well, and Safeco is soul-crushing for hitters. That’s one reason why it’s fair to wonder if Cruz is going to be able to hit dingers with anything approaching his normal regularity over the next four seasons.
It’s not just the Mariners and their opponents who will be affected in some way by the Cruz signing, as the Orioles lost 2014’s major-league home run leader when Cruz signed with the Mariners, and are now believed to have a 50-50 chance of bringing back longtime Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis as well. This all might push the O’s closer to a deal with the Dodgers to acquire Matt Kemp, who is expensive but also the best player named in this paragraph by an embarrassing margin.
The balance of power has shifted in the American League West with the Mariners finally bringing in an actual hitter with power and the A’s dealing Josh Donaldson with an eye towards the future. Unless the A’s are playing for now, too, in which case they’ve just made a spectacularly confusing deal.
- Laugh all you want at the idea of the Padres shopping for hitting, but they’ve been finalists for Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas already and seem willing to finally spend. Oh whatever, you can still laugh at them, it’s the Padres.
- The Giants met with Jon Lester on Monday, while Jon Heyman reported the offers the Cubs ($138 million) and the Red Sox ($130 million) have submitted. Word is that Lester is looking for $150 million, which isn’t actually news since Ken Rosenthal reported this in October of 2013. Come on y’all, keep up with every little detail.
- Speaking of Lester, our own Grant Brisbee is both intrigued and frightened by the possibility of the Giants handing Lester a long-term deal.
- Are the Mets going to be buyers or sellers at the winter meetings? Maybe both, given their overabundance of pitchers and their need for hitting.
- Our Cardinals blog, Viva El Birdos, thinks the Cards are smart for avoiding Jon Lester and Max Scherzer this winter. They’re one of the few teams with enough pitching on hand to ignore the hefty free agent deals those two will require.
- Are the Tigers doing anything about their horrific bullpen? They did watch the ALDS, right? Upgrade that mess.
- The Cubs have been losers for almost the entirety of their existence at this point, so whether you’re a self-loathing fan or just someone who likes to point and laugh at the misfortune of others, this list of the 10 worst trades in the team’s history is for you.
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