The Twins have found a replacement for Joe Mauer, announcing that they’ve claimed first baseman C.J. Cron off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cron, a right-handed hitter, hit .253 with 30 homers, 28 doubles an 74 RBI in 140 games with the Rays last season, is set to make about $5 million via arbitration in 2019, according to Twins Daily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igYYU3cF9f0
Cron, who turns 29 on Jan. 5, has racked up 89 homers and 96 doubles with a career .260 batting average in his five years in the majors.
He played for the Angels 2014-2017 before signing with the Rays last season.
The Twins haven’t announced plans for Cron, but it’s likely that he’ll split time at first base and designated hitter with Tyler Austin.
Comparing Cron to Logan Morrison
This is the second year in the row the Twins have signed a 30-homer hitter from the Rays. Last year, the Twins signed Logan Morrison, who was fresh off a 38-homer season in 2017 with Tampa Bay.
Naturally, people are going to draw comparisons.
- Morrison 2017: .246 AVG., 38 HR, 22 2B, 85 RBI, .868 SLG., 133 OPS+
- Cron 2018: .253 AVG., 30 HR, 28 2B, 74 RBI, .772 SLG., 123 OPS+
It’s an easy comparison to draw because of where they came from, but it’s also notable that Cron had never hit more than 16 homers prior to last season. Morrison averaged about 15 homers per season before exploding for 38 in his final year with the Rays.
For the Twins sake, let’s hope Cron can repeat his power in Minnesota.
