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If you're like me and aren't particularly thrilled (read: terrified) at the thought of Nelson Cruz on the Seattle Mariners, you probably won't like what Bob Nightengale of the USA Today just tweeted.
The #Mariners say they are all in and yes, are cautiously optimistic they will also sign slugger Nelson Cruz.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 6, 2014
The first part is kind of awesome and scary, and the second part is discouraging. There's a price where Nelson Cruz makes sense (I've set my hard line at 2/16, and wouldn't really like anything over 2/12), but his price tag seems likely to be above that, even this late in the game.
The Mariners seem more willing to spend all of a sudden, and Shannon Drayer tweets that the Mariners front office has been lobbying ownership for more money.
Blog post on Rodney. Have heard Mariners FO has been lobbying ownership for more $s. Did they get them? http://t.co/b7WJfvLdCD
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) February 7, 2014
Maybe they've succeeded. If that's the case, there appears to be a lot better ways to spend some cash - Ubaldo Jimenez perhaps - but there's also the glaring issue of how the asset of Nick Franklin will be used. If the team has a trade lined up that gets them another starting pitcher, it would make some sense why they're using their free cash towards offense instead of pitching. We just don't know what's going on behind the scenes, and what is motivating the late pursuit of Nelson Cruz so publicly.
This offseason has been weird, wild, and entertaining. It's been good, but incomplete. Kudos to Jack Z are deserved, at least to this point. The Mariners are in the stretch run, and we're about to find out what "all-in" means. Hold onto your seats. The next few weeks could make or break the past several months.
