Nelson

Cruz

Usually, we think of players going to work for one of their former teams in situations like this, but the Dodgers were not one of the nine teams to employ Cruz during his 23 years as a pro. Obviously, they’ve admired him from afar anyway. Cruz retired earlier this month after hitting 464 homers in 19 major league seasons.

The 43-year-old Cruz hit .245/.283/.399 in 152 plate appearances for San Diego this year before being released in July. He finishes his 19-year career with 2,053 hits, 464 home runs, 1,325 RBI, four Silver Sluggers, and seven. All-Star games His 464 home runs are second among “active” major leaguers, 47 behind Miguel Cabrera, who also retired this year. Cruz will retire as one of the best hitters of his generation.

As far as we can tell, Cruz is only officially retiring from LIDOM. However, there’s also been nothing to suggest he’ll give MLB another try, as he decided against signing anywhere after being released by the Padres in July. The 43-year-old Cruz hit .245/.283/.399 in 152 plate appearances for San Diego this year. He’s second among “active” major leaguers with 464 homers, 47 behind Miguel Cabrera. Assuming that he joins Cabrera in retirement, Giancarlo Stanton, at 402, will take over as the active leader next year.

Cruz went unclaimed on waivers and is now free to pursue another opportunity on the open market. It’s unclear whether there will be any interest in the 43-year-old slugger after posting a lackluster .681 OPS with five homers across 49 games this season for the Padres. If this is the end, it’s been a truly remarkable career. However, it would be fascinating to see him land with a contender in a bench role to pursue a World Series title.

Cruz has been cut loose by San Diego after batting .245/.283/.399 with five homers, 23 RBI and one stolen base across 152 plate appearances in 49 games. The 43-year-old slugger appears to be reaching the finish line of an astonishing career. There’s a chance another organization is willing to give him a chance, but it’s unclear whether he has anything left in the tank.

While he’s back with the Padres and active for Tuesday’s contest against the Guardians, Cruz is not in the team’s starting lineup against right-hander Tanner Bibee. Matt Carpenter will function as the team’s designated hitter on Tuesday and will bat seventh for the Padres.

Cruz homered for Triple-A El Paso earlier this week and doesn’t figure to require too many additional rehab contests before returning to San Diego’s designated hitter mix. The 42-year-old slugger has been out since early June due to a right hamstring strain.

It sounds like this will begin on Thursday. Cruz was placed on the IL with a right hamstring strain five days ago, though as much as anything, it seemed like the Padres just wanted to give him some time to hopefully find his stroke. He hit .128 with no extra-base hits in 42 plate appearances last month.

It’s unclear how long Cruz may be sidelined. The 42-year-old slugger hasn’t quite provided the punch that the Padres had hoped for this season -- slashing just .238/.270/.381 with three homers and 16 RBI in his 111 plate appearances. Alfonso Rivas had his contract selected from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move on Friday.

The game featured 11 homers and 30 hits in total. Also homering for the Padres were Manny Machado (twice), Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr., whose homer was projected at 308 feet. Brandon Crawford, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mitch Haniger, Blake Sabol and David Villar went deep for the Giants. Cruz upped his OPS from .682 to .839 with just his second career five-hit game and first since 2014. He also stole a base for the first time this season.