Dodgers - Signed Cruz Jr.

Los Angeles Dodgers - Signed CF

OF Jose Cruz Jr. to a 1-year contract with an option for 2007.

This one is worth $2.91 million guaranteed with an addition $300K in incentives.  It’s still hard to tell where the Dodgers are going this offseason - they still don’t have a GM or a known organizational philosophy, so it’s hard to take a guess at what they’re doing.  There’s no chance now that Cruz will ever be the star he looked to like he could early on in his career (though the inevitable comparisons to Griffey were completely unwarranted at the time), but he’s a decent stopgap corner outfielder and a fine 4th outfielder.  And unlike most of the rest of the team, he was at least able to wear a uniform instead of a hospital gown after the Dodgers picked him up from the Red Sox for Tony Schrager.

One thing that is worrisome about this signing is if the Dodgers consider him to be a potential centerfielder.  The team may want to put Drew in left to try to protect him (though he believes center is safer for him) and if they dump Bradley for pennies on the dollar at the winter meetings, then Cruz may just be plan C.  There really aren’t any good centerfielders available other than Damon, who I think will be Shannon Stewart in 2 years.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Jacque Jones ended up a Dodger.

2006 ZiPS Projection - Jose Cruz Jr.
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 AB   R    H  2B 3B  HR RBI  BB  SO  SB    BA   OBP   SLG  
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477  61  112  23  3  20  68  77 114   5  .235  .340  .421