MINNEAPOLIS — Aside from a hilarious excursion to deliver the lineup card and a pair of warm receptions, Nelson Cruz’s second trip back to the Twin Cities since being traded was largely uneventful.

Now a platoon player with the San Diego Padres, Cruz played at Target Field this week for the first time since immediately after he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in July 2021. Cruz was limited to two pinch hit at-bats during the series, including striking out to end Thursday’s contest, a 5-3 Twins victory in front of 23,365 fans. The Twins won two of three meetings against San Diego.

Advertisement

Though Cruz’s return trip was milquetoast, the long-lasting impact of his two-year-plus tenure with the Twins can’t be overstated.

The most productive designated hitter in club history, Cruz’s influence on the Twins extended well beyond the field.

Stories about Cruz’s clubhouse presence and work ethic are the stuff of legend, and the trade that sent him away, a deal that netted Joe Ryan, could one day be viewed similarly.

“Bringing (Cruz) in was probably one of our most important and best moves that we could have made,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

The tenor of Cruz’s return this week was much different from his previous visit.

Back then, things were still raw, as the revered slugger visited just 22 days after he’d been dealt to Tampa Bay. Ryan wouldn’t join the Twins for another 2 1/2 weeks, and a team spiraling toward a 73-89 record honored Cruz with a tribute video. A few minutes later, Cruz paid homage the best way he knows how, blasting a solo home run off Michael Pineda in his second plate appearance of the series, which brought cheers from a crowd that never wanted the slugger to leave.

“It definitely is different,” Cruz said Tuesday while wearing a brown and yellow Padres pullover in the visiting dugout. “It was really fresh right away.”

Similar to his previous visit, Cruz is optimistic about his new team.

While he was inserted directly into a pennant race with the Rays in 2021, Cruz signed a one-year deal with the ever-hopeful Padres in January. Expectations are as high as they’ve been in San Diego since 1998, after signing free agent Xander Bogaerts, extending the contracts of multiple key players and the return of the uber-talented Fernando Tatis Jr.

The move also reunites Cruz with Manny Machado, who credited the veteran as a mentor when they played together in Baltimore a decade ago.

Advertisement

“It’s something I was looking forward (to), just to go to the World Series and win the World Series,” Cruz said. “That’s my main goal right now, and that’s the main reason I’m here. It’s such a talented group. We’ve got all we need. … I’m really excited to be a part of this.”

Though he’s still adapting to a part-time role — “Definitely a tough position,” he said — the 42-year-old is in good spirits coming off a difficult 2022 campaign in which he finished with a .651 OPS for the Washington Nationals. Cruz had offseason eye surgery on his left, lead eye and can once again clearly see the ball, something that wasn’t the case a year ago.

He demonstrated how good he feels before Tuesday’s series opener, wearing the Padres’ celebratory home run sombrero and laughing the entire way as he exchanged lineup cards with Baldelli.

Cruz also reflected on his time with the Twins, identifying it as an important era of his career. Though the team came up empty, Cruz appeared in the postseason twice with Minnesota following a five-year personal drought. There also was the Bomba Squad, mentoring Miguel Sanó, and Nelly’s Nap Room.

Though their opportunities were limited, fans applauded Cruz when he pinch hit late in the Twins’ victories Wednesday and Thursday. Facing reliever Jorge López both times, Cruz lined out to shortstop Wednesday before striking out Thursday.

“It means we did something good,” Cruz said. “We went twice to the playoffs. … That’s the goal: to play. You go to situations where you can try to win. And to be able to play (in the playoffs) two of the three years I was here was special.”

BOOYAH!! C4 DELIVERS!! @Twins || #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/vcQEd7RguQ

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) May 11, 2023

Those experiences are remembered just as fondly by Cruz’s former teammates. Whether it was recounting Cruz’s ability to nap in the middle of a loud clubhouse, his rigorous game day routine or even their teammate’s easygoing nature, Twins players are still in awe of how Cruz operated.

Advertisement

“For a guy who’s been doing it for so long, he carried himself like someone who’s fighting for a job, almost,” outfielder Max Kepler said. “He would work. That’s why he’s been in the game for so long. … Even when he was worn out, tired, you know, you could tell that he was still trying to lift the people around him. … It seems like he puts the game before everything else. And his routine was so important to him.”

Shortly after the Twins named Baldelli their new manager, they signed Cruz to a one-year contract with a club option. Even though he was a rookie, Baldelli knew having Cruz meant he didn’t need to police the clubhouse to keep things in order. It’s one of many reasons Baldelli reveres Cruz, who is 38 home runs shy of 500.

“Probably one of the best human beings you’ll ever be around,” Baldelli said. “A guy you can rely on to set a good tone in that room, to take care of things in that room, to show people a model of how to be a true professional at this level. That still means something to me. … I couldn’t have been happier to have him along for the ride.”

With the way Ryan has performed since arriving in the majors in September 2021, the Twins only have more reason to appreciate Cruz’s time. Minnesota’s pitching program is a staple of its success, and Tampa Bay felt it was trading from a strength when it dealt Ryan to the Twins.

While Ryan had an outstanding fastball and pinpoint command, there were questions about his secondary pitches and how much they might limit his success. But Ryan has developed and incrementally grown as a player in that period. He not only cites his work with Driveline this offseason as being key to his 5-1 start but also the open communication between Driveline and the Twins.

“I think it’s the opportunity and a new scene, too. A new setting helps,” Ryan said. “I’ve been really lucky to have great coaches and a great staff. A lot of behind-the-scenes stuff makes a huge difference, too. Just having those resources has been super helpful. … Being able to work together with (Driveline) and our team, and they’re on the same page, which makes a huge difference. You can really have this year-round communication of getting better all the time, and I think that helps a ton.”

Ryan previously met Cruz when the Twins traveled to Tampa Bay in September 2021. They posed for a picture then, spent time together again this spring when Cruz was the general manager for the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic roster, and snapped another photo Tuesday.

Advertisement

Both players realize they’re forever linked. “It’s fun to just check in and realize why you’re here,” Ryan said. Cruz said he also keeps tabs on Ryan and is happy for him.

“I’m glad to see him having success,” Cruz said. “If you’re going to get traded, you might as well get traded for a good player. … Good times. … Good memories.”

Two days after he heard the boos, Carlos Correa turned those Twins fans’ frowns upside down. Correa’s two-out, two-run double down the left-field line off San Diego’s Steven Wilson helped the Twins complete their comeback victory, one that helped them to a series win.

Correa ripped a hanging 83 mph sweeper past third baseman Ha Seong Kim to give the Twins their first lead. The Twins rallied from one run down three times, tying the score earlier in the seventh inning on Kepler’s RBI fielder’s choice.

Joey Gallo previously walked to force in the tying run in the second inning, and Kyle Farmer blasted a score-tying solo homer in the fourth.

But Correa’s heroics came less than 48 hours after fans booed him during an 0-for-5 showing in which he stranded six batters. After that game, Correa said he’d boo himself, too.

“They all feel good, but these ones feel extra special,” Correa said. “Like I said, build on that, keep with the same routine in the cage. I’ve been feeling really good at the plate, so yeah, just keep going. … I got a good pitch to hit. It was a great moment.”

In only his second game back since he was hit in the face by a pitch, Farmer found the second deck for a tying homer off San Diego starter Yu Darvish. Farmer nearly homered in his return Wednesday night, only for the ball to be caught on the warning track, a drive that would have been a home run in every other park in baseball.

Advertisement

But this time he wasn’t cheated. Farmer’s drive traveled 433 feet and nearly reached the third deck in left field.

“I knew I hit it well,” Farmer said. “I knew it was gone and that I’d put a good swing on it. First one in a while — felt good. … I’ve talked to a lot of people about (getting hit in the face), especially my dad. He told me: ‘You’re a baseball player. Get back in there and do your thing. You were put on this earth to play baseball. You’ve just got to do your thing.’ I’m just thankful for him and the support I had at home from my wife and son. They just kept me in the game.”

Good to have you back, @kFarm17! @Twins // #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/X6p3TCp7xx

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) May 11, 2023

Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober didn’t have command of his secondary pitches the way he prefers, but it didn’t stop him from delivering six good innings. Ober relied heavily on his four-seam fastball to finish strong against a Padres offense that produced nine hard-hit balls against him, including homers by Tatis and Rougned Odor.

The fastball generated nine of the 16 swings-and-misses Ober finished with among 96 pitches, a number he wasn’t allowed to approach during his rookie season two years ago as the team closely monitored his workload.

“Back then, they had a little bit different idea of what was a pregame plan, I would say, going into my outings,” Ober said. “But now the leash is off and they’re going to do whatever they need to do to help this team win. If that’s letting me go as long as I can, then so be it. That’s my game plan coming into every single game, is to go as deep as I can and help this bullpen out.”

(Photo: Abbie Parr / Associated Press)