Minnesota Twins to exercise Nelson Cruz’s option for 2020

The Minnesota Twins’ slugger played a huge role in the team’s successful 2019 season and will be rewarded by having his option for 2020 picked up.

As the Minnesota Twins get over their early exit to the playoffs, they’ve already been busy breaking out their offseason to-do list. One of the things that should have been at the top of that ledger should have been exercising the 2020 option on Nelson Cruz, who helped turn a mediocre Twins team into the Bomba Squad.

Fortunately for Twins fans, that’s exactly what was at the top of the Twins’ list and who could blame them? After the 39-year old hit .311 with 41 HR and 108 RBI, the Twins have made the obvious decision to keep Cruz around for 2020 by exercising his option according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

For the Twins, this was the most obvious move they’ll make all offseason. Cruz was a force in the middle of the Twins lineup and it just didn’t occur at the plate. With veteran leadership that had been lacking in previous seasons, he was a great influence on the nucleus of young players on the Twins lineup which helped see breakout seasons from Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano, and Luis Arraez.

Perhaps more importantly considering Minnesota sports history, Cruz actually likes playing in Minnesota, which he reiterated during a press scrum prior to Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series.

"“I want to be back,” Cruz said according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. “I don’t have that call, but hopefully they can pick up the option. The future looks really bright for us so I want to be part of a winning team for many years.”"

Despite Cruz’s advanced age, he remains one of the key pieces for a successful Twins season in 2020 and although Minnesota has plenty of work to do (especially in the pitching department) between now and Opening Day, they at least have one item checked off their to-do list.