What The Trade Deadline Says About Nelson Cruz In 2013 And Beyond

Per everyone, Jon Daniels and the Rangers Front Office made no moves prior to the 4:00 p.m. (EST) trade deadline, so, it would appear Texas is committed to rolling with what is already has.

In spite of their recent slump, which intensified the noise to acquire an outfielder, it’s evident that Daniels was either not as desperate as the media made it seem, or he just wasn’t all that in love with the options the market presented him. Or a combination of the two, I suppose.

This is particularly interesting when you figure, in the next couple days, Nelson Cruz is almost surely to get a 50-game suspension handed down by MLB. This suggests it might not be such a foregone conclusion that Nellie plays the good soldier and just accepts the suspension like most other players linked to Biogenesis; the likelihood of a Cruz appeal — which, ideally would be processed for so long that it wouldn’t affect the Rangers playoff push in 2013 — grew substantially today.

I would also say, as much as this may sound like complete speculation at this point (which it is), if Nelson does in fact appeal, I would like to imagine some good faith would be at play between he and the Rangers.

See, if Nelson Cruz appeals, and loses, he’s likely going to miss the first 50 games of the 2014 season. In a walk-year, that significantly affects a player’s value. Cruz’s agent would be trying to leverage a contract for a client who would only be available for 112 games.

As such, if Nelson fights this, risking future money, you would think Jon Daniels would provide the assurance that he will be compensated for that sacrifice.

This could all look like a bunch of bullshit, but I just can’t envision the Rangers rolling down the stretch with a starting outfield of David Murphy, Leonys Martin and Engel Beltre/Craig Gentry. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.

You can chalk this up as food for thought, but we’ll know how it turns out in a couple days.