Notes on Nelson Cruz, free agent rankings and more

Nelson Cruz has said several times that he would like to remain an Oriole. But he has not said he would sign with the Orioles if their contract offer is not the best he can get as a free agent.

Would he take less money or a contract for fewer years than he could get from another team? That is a whole different story.

As I wrote earlier this offseason, Cruz has earned his payday. He batted .271 with 32 doubles, 40 homers, 108 RBIs and a .525 slugging percentage for the Orioles last season.

He led the majors in homers, ranked third in the American League in RBIs and extra-base hits, and fifth in slugging.

He set career-highs in homers and RBIs, but he will turn 35 during the 2015 season. Should the Orioles offer Cruz a deal that could pay him $50 million or more?

Yesterday on MLB Network, the number $70 million was tossed around in a discussion about Cruz and analyst Mark DeRosa said that was just too much for the slugger.

"He is a postseason beast, so you have to take that into consideration. He shines on the biggest stage. But he's going to be a DH," DeRosa said. "Four years, $70 (million) for a guy that is probably not going to play defense for me. To pay a DH that much, as good as Cruz is, is asking a lot."

If Cruz leaves the Orioles, could Steve Pearce take over as the DH? Would Delmon Young be a solid DH if re-signed?

Meanwhile, when the Chicago Cubs hired Joe Maddon to be their new manager, the odds for the Cubs to win the 2015 World Series dropped from 50-1 to 20-1.

No doubt Maddon can bring some of his inspiration to the Cubs. He is a good quote, that is for sure.

"Don't ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure," Maddon said. "That's on the top of my lineup card every night."

Easy to say, but probably hard to do in this social media world where every strikeout or groundout with the bases loaded brings swift and loud criticism.

In looking to replace Maddon, the Tampa Bay Rays hope to have a new manager in place by the winter meetings. They announced a list of eight candidates to replace Maddon yesterday:

* Dave Martinez, Tampa Bay bench coach
* Charlie Montoyo, Rays Triple-A manager
* Manny Acta, ESPN analyst and former Indians, Nationals manager
* Ron Wotus, longtime Giants coach
* Don Wakamatsu, former Mariners manager and current Royals coach
* Raul Ibanez, who played last season with the Angels and Royals
* Craig Counsell, special assistant with the Brewers
* Kevin Cash, Indians coach

The Rays say this list could grow. I like the fact that they announced the candidates, which will cut down on fan and media speculation about who is on the list.

Speaking of lists, this MLB.com article took an interesting look at the current crop of major league free agents. They ranked them one through 50 by wins above replacement over the last three seasons. But they also weighted the rankings with 2014 given three times as much weight with 2012 and 2013 getting twice as much.

Pitcher Max Scherzer ranked No. 1, followed by catcher Russell Martin, third baseman Chase Headley, shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

Cruz ranked No. 9 with Nick Markakis No. 28 and Andrew Miller No. 31.

Stat of the day: Here is a look at the 2014 American League leaders in singles:

168 - Jose Altuve, Houston
138 - James Loney, Tampa Bay
136 - Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles
135 - Nick Markakis, Orioles
134 - Robinson Cano, Seattle