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The San Diego Padres were just a few games away from a World Series appearance after a stunning run. They were the Wild Card team but defeated the 101-win New York Mets and the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers before succumbing to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Now, they're ready to go even further in the postseason. They'll have Fernando Tatis Jr. back and they signed Xander Bogaerts. Now, they've also officially added seven-time All-Star Nelson Cruz.
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Despite being almost 43, Cruz has proven he can still hit as he knocked in 10 home runs last season. For a depth piece for the Padres, it doesn't get much better than Cruz.
It's just a one-year deal, so it's clearly a move aimed at a deep playoff run in 2023. Padres fans could not be more excited about the prospect of Cruz hitting home runs at Petco Park.
The Padres were very close to achieving their goal last season. It's always important to continue adding pieces when that happens because a run like the one they had doesn't happen all that often.
That's exactly what the San Diego Padres have done, now cemented by the official signing of Nelson Cruz.
San Diego Padres 2023 lineup with Nelson Cruz
With Nelson Cruz, the San Diego Padres now have a bona fide designated hitter. He's too old to play the field, but they won't need him to do that.
Here's what their lineup might look like:
- Juan Soto, RF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Fernando Tatis Jr., LF
- Jake Cronenworth, 1B
- Nelson Cruz/Matt Carpenter, DH
- Austin Nola, C
- Trent Grisham, CF
- Ha-Seong Kim, 2B
This lineup could be one of the best in baseball. It's hard to imagine a team having a better top four hitters than what the Padres boast in Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr.
They will have to remain healthy, but this Padres team could be extremely dangerous. The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't had a great offseason, so the division title could change hands.
The team was without Cruz, Tatis and Matt Carpenter and went to the NLCS. How far can they go this season with a new-look roster?
