From the first day of the season, when his solo home run ending up being the game-winning RBI over the defending champion Boston Red Sox, former Texas Rangers’ designated hitter and outfielder Nelson Cruz has been the cornerstone of the O’s offense.
Cruz enters the week with an impressive triple slash line of .273/.333/.540 so far this season and has been easily the most irreplaceable piece of the offense. In a season where Manny Machado has struggled to return to his 2013 form after recovering from his knee injury last September, and where Chris Davis looks more like the player who hit only .245 the second half of last season, it is reasonable to begin to consider shuffling the lineup as we are now past the midpoint of May.
Cruz has been the one constant.
Consider that for a long time last season, especially early on, Davis was on a torrid streak, hitting well over .300 with home run after home run.
Consider also that while his average was higher on May 19th 2013 than Cruz’s is now, Davis had 12 HR last season, and this year Cruz has 12 on May 19th. Remember also last season Davis was unquestionably the catalyst on the offense, and how frustrating it was to watch him hit fifth in the lineup night after night for the majority of the first couple months of the season. Honestly that was one of Buck Showalter’s only shortcomings early last season – his hesitance to move up the team’s best hitter earlier in the year.
This leads me to believe that the Orioles’ offense, which has struggled more than most pundits and fans expected, could use a jolt.
My advice is to move Cruz up in the lineup, where his potent bat will have more opportunities to contribute. Since Machado’s return, most nights this season the lineup has consisted of:
1. Markakis
2. Machado
3. Davis
4. Jones
5. Cruz
I think it would be most beneficial for the Orioles to insert Cruz in the second or third spot in the lineup and then move Machado, (.239 batting average, one HR, 0 2B) to the fifth or sixth spot either directly in front of or behind J.J. Hardy.
This move does not have to be permanent and likely wouldn’t be if Cruz began to slump, but until he slows down, it’s impossible to justify hitting the best player on the team outside of the top four spots in the lineup. Cruz is currently on pace for over 45 HR and over 140 RBI, and has already been the reason the Orioles have won multiple games. This move also is not going to hurt Machado either; on the contrary, it would likely help a young hitter returning from an unfortunate injury to hit lower in the lineup to take a little pressure off of him.
Cruz has already been successful early this season hitting higher in the lineup, as he spent time in the second spot while Machado was on the disabled list earlier this season, and has erased all doubts from last offseason about whether or not his impressive 2013 was fueled only by PEDs. Over his last 150 games, (109 with Texas, 41 with Orioles) Cruz has hit .269 with 39 HR and 113 RBI.
It’s not unreasonable to look at Cruz as a potential MVP candidate if he can stay healthy and in an AL East that looks like it will come down to the absolute wire, any possible advantage the Orioles can give themselves, they need to take, and batting Cruz higher in the lineup is one easy one.
