Heading into the offseason, there's no way Juan Cruz thought he'd miss a few weeks of Spring Training while still looking for a job. After all, the setup man with a powerful arm had a stellar 2008 campaign. He had a 2.61 ERA and struck out 71 batters in 51 2/3 innings. One issue likely steering teams away was that he was good enough to qualify as a Type A free agent. Well, on Saturday, Cruz finally found work, and he found it with the small-market Kansas City Royals. He signed a two-year deal with a club option for a third year -- all told, he could make $9.5 million in three years.
Simply put, this is a superb deal for the Royals. Cruz was one of the better late-inning relievers in the National League, and he misses bats as well as anyone. In the past two seasons, he's struck out 158 hitters in only 112 2/3 innings pitched, with the combined ERA coming in below 3.00. He does have control issues at times, but that's the price you pay for the power arm.
Cruz likely immediately steps into the eighth-inning role for the Royals, sliding back Kyle Farnsworth to seventh-inning duty. The bridge to Joakim Soria is now much more firm, and the Royals now have a very formidable late innings duo in Cruz and Soria. With a seemingly wide-open AL Central race, you certainly can't count these guys out. You know the Royals think they have a shot, otherwise they wouldn't be parting with a second-round draft choice.
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