San Diego Padres fans react to report that team is interested in veteran slugger Nelson Cruz: "Like as their hitting coach?", "Terrible idea"

The San Diego Padres have made a flurry of moves this off-season. Their biggest and most shocking move was acquiring All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts in free agency. They also recently signed Adam Engel and Brent Honeywell Jr. to complete their 40-man roster.

But the Padres might not be done spending this off-season. It's been reported that the team is interested in veteran Nelson Cruz.

Cruz and the team's GM, AJ Preller, have a history together. Preller was with the Texas Rangers as a front-office executive when Cruz played for them.

Cruz is an interesting name left on the free agent market. He didn't have a good 2022 season at the plate, hitting just 10 home runs in 124 games for the Washington Nationals.

However, he was dealing with right eye inflammation that caused his vision to become blurry. It was surprising to hear he even hit 10 home runs trying to track 100 MPH fastballs with blurry vision. Since he had surgery in the off-season to fix the issue, we can expect a better season at the plate for Cruz in 2023.

But San Diego Padres fans aren't too thrilled to hear that the team is interested in the veteran, and who could blame them? His 2022 numbers weren't inspiring.

There are some fans, however, who wouldn't mind signing Nelson Cruz. As someone who's spent 18 years in the MLB, he's seen it all. He could be a big help to players like Fernando Tatis Jr. and the other young talent on the team.

The San Diego Padres won't be satisfied until they hoist a World Series trophy

It feels like the San Diego Padres are one of the teams interested in every single free agent on the market. They can see their championship window, and they're acting on it.

The team is going to be intimidating heading into the 2023 season. They have an All-Star pitching rotation behind Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove. On top of that, they have a shutdown bullpen with Josh Hader and Robert Suarez.

Their lineup shouldn't be forgotten, either. Manny Machado has been a staple for the Padres, arguably playing the best baseball of his career. Pair that with Juan Soto, Bogaerts, and the returning Tatis Jr., and this team should be a force.

It will be interesting to see how the Padres stack up against the other juggernaut teams next season.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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