{"id":25610,"date":"2019-10-09T15:58:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T19:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=25610"},"modified":"2019-10-09T16:03:09","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T20:03:09","slug":"report-minnesota-twins-to-pick-up-12-million-option-for-nelson-cruz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/10\/09\/report-minnesota-twins-to-pick-up-12-million-option-for-nelson-cruz\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Minnesota Twins to Pick up $12 Million Option for Nelson Cruz"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Report: Minnesota Twins to Pick up $12 Million Option for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=cruzne02,cruzne01&amp;search=Nelson+Cruz&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nelson Cruz<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/mlb-teams\/minnesota-twins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Twins<\/a> are picking up <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=cruzne02,cruzne01&amp;search=Nelson+Cruz&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nelson Cruz&#8217;s<\/a><\/strong> $12 million contract option for 2020, according to a report from MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. In January, the Twins signed Cruz to a one-year, $14 million deal, including the club option for 2020. If the Twins didn&#8217;t exercise the option, it would come with a $300,000 buyout. The team hasn&#8217;t confirmed the report.<\/p>\n<p>In his first season in Minnesota, Cruz batted .311, belted 41 home runs, and drove in 108 runs.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Twins are picking up Nelson Cruz\u2019s $12M option for 2020. No surprise there.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonHeyman\/status\/1181943343858831360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nLeading the &#8220;Bomba Squad&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>After shattering the MLB record with 307 home runs in 2019, the Twins offense earned the nickname of &#8220;Bomba Squad.&#8221; As a result, the Twins won 100-plus games for the second time in franchise history and won the American League Central for the first time since 2010. It comes as no surprise that Cruz was the heart and soul of the offensive unit. According to coaches and staffers, Cruz had a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/27806801\/sources-twins-expected-pick-12m-option-nelson-cruz\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">positive influence on the clubhouse<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cruz became just the third player in team history to reach the 40-homer mark, joining <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/killeha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harmon Killebrew<\/a> <\/strong>(seven times) and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doziebr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brian Dozier<\/a><\/strong> (once).<\/p>\n<p>Cruz also became just the fourth player in Major League history to post a 40-homer season in his age-38 season or older, joining <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bondsba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Barry Bonds<\/a><\/strong> (2003-04), <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/evansda01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darrell Evans<\/a><\/strong> (1985), and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/aaronha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hank Aaron<\/a><\/strong> (1973).<\/p>\n<h3>Looking Forward to 2020<\/h3>\n<p>After an impressive regular season, the Twins season ended with a sweep at the hands of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/mlb-teams\/new-york-yankees\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Yankees<\/a> in the ALDS. Although the season didn&#8217;t end the ways the Twins had hoped, the foundation was laid for future success.<\/p>\n<p>Cruz is set to return to a Twins lineup that in 2020 will also include, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/keplema01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Kepler<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sanomi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miguel Sano<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/buxtoby01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Byron Buxton<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/polanjo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jorge Polanco<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gonzama01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marwin Gonzalez<\/a><\/strong>, among others.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"g1jnzOvMTVBopWsheYxPaw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1180044380\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'g1jnzOvMTVBopWsheYxPaw',sig:'2OZIn1Qp68grWDcjw0DlJXdpCG-WfsyiVeDeh12FuKw=',w:'594px',h:'390px',items:'1180044380',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Report: Minnesota Twins to Pick up $12 Million Option for Nelson Cruz The Minnesota Twins are picking up Nelson Cruz&#8217;s $12 million contract option for 2020, according to a report from MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. In January, the Twins signed Cruz to a one-year, $14 million deal, including the club option for 2020. If [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2924,"featured_media":25611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,13,35],"tags":[174,745],"class_list":["post-25610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-twins","category-news","tag-minnesota-twins","tag-nelson-cruz"],"modified_by":"Aaron Cornett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2924"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}