The Baltimore Orioles have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz on a one-year deal with a base salary of $8 million, plus $750K in incentives. The deal represents a 43% pay cut essentially over what Cruz declined from the Rangers in a qualifying offer of $14.1 million.
In Cruz, the Orioles get a 33-year-old right-handed bat who hit .266/.327/.506 with 27 home runs in 456 plate appearances in 2013 before he was suspended 50 games for a connection to Biogenesis. Cruz is represented by the Wasserman Media Group.
Cruz will join an already potent lineup of Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Matt Weiters and Manny Machado. Cruz has 135 home runs over the past five seasons. The team signed free agent pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez earlier this week and may add another player or two soon especially given the deep discounts on players that may be suddenly available on the free agent market.
