How Nelson Cruz could give Sox the AL Central crown originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
If you can't beat 'em, sign 'em.
The White Sox are looking to upgrade the DH position this winter, and there are few more intriguing free-agent options there than the guy who's tormented the South Siders for the past couple seasons as a Minnesota Twin.
Nelson Cruz and the Twins won the AL Central again in 2020, edging the White Sox by a game. While that team didn't boast the same kind of firepower it did a season earlier, when it set the major league record for the most homers hit in a single season, Cruz kept on doing his thing, despite his ever advancing age.
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Now 40 years old, Cruz isn't showing any signs of slowing down. He slashed .303/.379/.595 and smacked 16 homers in 2020, a solid follow up to an excellent 2019 campaign that saw him slash .311/.392/.639 with 41 home runs. He's been the engine driving the Twins' power-packed lineup the last two seasons as they rose to the top of the heap in the division.
The White Sox, of course, don't need to be reminded. Cruz established himself as a candidate for the all-time White Sox Killer team. In 2019, he slashed .433/.521/.917 with eight homers and 24 RBIs in 16 games against the South Siders. A year later, it was a .368/.422/.711 slash line, three homers and 10 RBIs in 10 games.
So the White Sox turning to Cruz to solve their DH need would accomplish a few things all at once: They'd add one of the most dependable power bats in the game to a lineup that already showed it can be one of baseball's most dangerous, they'd take the driving force out of the lineup of their chief competition for the Central crown, and they'd rid themselves of one of the biggest thorns in their side.
A win-win-win.
Of course, how likely such a defection in the White Sox-Twins rivalry would be remains a mystery. Cruz means so much to the Twins that it makes a lot of sense that they'd try to keep him in Minnesota.
But of even more significance, perhaps, is that of the White Sox stated offseason needs — with starting pitching and right field accompanying designated hitter — DH is the area with the best internal solution. Top rated prospect Andrew Vaughn has shown he can swing a mean bat, and though his pro experience is limited to nothing higher than A ball, he could indeed be an option to take over everyday DH duties at the big league level at some point in 2021.
The White Sox, however, have immediate championship expectations, and as they've already shown by swapping Rick Renteria for three-time World Series winner Tony La Russa, they're in the market for dependability this offseason. Certainly Cruz and his clockwork power has the edge in that category over Vaughn.
It might take a multi-year commitment, a rarity for players of Cruz's age, but prying the slugger away from their division rivals could kill a few birds with one stone for these White Sox, most notably making their lineup one of the most fearsome in the game. Simultaneously diminishing the Twins would instantly flip the balance of power in the Central — and put the White Sox on track to meeting their win-now expectations.
