SEATTLE — For the second time in as many winters, the Seattle Mariners sent a shock wave through baseball with a high-profile move to add a big bat to their evolving lineup.
While last year’s move to sign Robinson Cano was comparable to adding filet mignon to a fast-food menu, the signing of Nelson Cruz should have a much deeper impact on the American League power structure.
By signing the 34-year-old slugger to be their designated hitter and part-time outfielder, the Mariners not only solidified their lineup but also took some of the starch out of another AL contender.
The Cruz signing gave Seattle a needed right-handed hitter with power, while leaving the Baltimore Orioles with some serious offensive questions. The defending AL East champs lost Cruz to the Mariners and outfielder Nick Markakis to the Atlanta Braves in the same week.
With Baltimore scrambling to rebuild its offense, the Oakland A’s looking to replace Josh Donaldson and recover from a horrific second half to the 2013 season, the Kansas City Royals trying to catch lightning in a bottle again and the Yankees and Red Sox rebuilding from frustrating seasons, the Mariners could be in prime position to challenge the Angels and Tigers for AL supremacy.
“We’ve got one of the best starting pitchers in the league (in Felix Hernandez) and one of the best bullpens in the league,” Cruz said during his introductory press conference in Seattle. “With my bat and these guys we have, we should go a long way.”
How long could depend on how the Mariners’ newest bat fares in the cleanup spot.
Cruz led the AL with 40 home runs last season, but there are a few red flags, as he is getting up there in years, he faded down the stretch during the 2013 season and he has a career .234 batting average at Safeco Field in Seattle.
But he was the best right-handed power hitter on the market, and the Mariners did whatever they could to add him to an improving offense.
“We went from a four-hole spot in the lineup and having the worst DH in the American League to having a force in the four-spot,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said.
Zduriencik admitted that the four-year deal was somewhat of a risk, given Cruz’s age, but he added that the Mariners were willing to do whatever it took to get him after failing to sign him as a free agent last winter.
Cruz was being given a hero’s welcome during his first press conference in Seattle. It began with a short video featuring three defensive stars from the Seattle Seahawks welcoming “The Broomstick” — Cruz’s nickname — to town, then manager Lloyd McClendon led Cruz and Zduriencik onto a stage with a huge smile on his face.
“I woke up this morning and thanked my lucky stars,” McClendon said. “This is a sign of commitment from ownership, that this organization is moving in the right direction and we all have the same goals in mind — and that’s to win a championship. Obviously, having a player of the level of Nelson Cruz in the middle of our lineup is going to be tremendous.”
The Mariners, having missed out on an AL wild-card berth by a single game in a season that went down to the final day, went into the offseason looking for a right-handed power hitter and a back-of-the-rotation starter and got both. Wednesday’s deal that sent oft-injured outfielder Michael Saunders to Toronto for left-handed starter J.A. Happ — what Zduriencik referred to as a “security blanket” — wasn’t nearly as notable as the Cruz signing, but could also end up being an important factor to Seattle’s 2014 fortunes.
Zduriencik said that the Mariners will still be active when winter meetings begin, adding that he is still looking to fill “one or two” holes. An every-day right fielder might be on the Mariners’ wish list, and it’s still unclear whether Logan Morrison and/or up-and-coming prospect D.J. Peterson will be enough to fill the first base position, but the Mariners have shored up their biggest need with the Cruz signing.
This time last year, Seattle baseball wasn’t even on the AL map. A surprising run at an AL wild-card spot proved that the Mariners might be a team to watch, and the pairing of Cano and Cruz in the middle of the lineup might be enough to push Seattle onto the short list of World Series favorites.
“That’s a great thing,” Zduriencik said of the notion that his team is now being looked at as a possible World Series contender. “But it’s hot-stove baseball right now. It’s not even January. A lot of things happen between now and spring training, and a lot happens before Opening Day, and a lot happens during the course of a season.
“If people look at us and say we’re a contender, that’s great. We have some nice things going here. … But the game isn’t played on paper. It’s played on the field.”