San Diego Padres fans react to team DFA’ing Nelson Cruz: "Sad for him but Father Time has never lost" "Hardly one of the worst players on this team"

The San Diego Padres designated Nelson Cruz for assignment on Tuesday. The move was announced by the team amidst a flurry of activity and spells the end of the 43-year-old designated hitter's run with the Friars.

Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters Tuesday that the decision to cut Cruz loose was a "tough one," saying:

"He's a big impact in the clubhouse. Across the board, throughout the league, the respect that he brings, playing against him from afar, it's fantastic. He comes as advertised -- leadership, all of the above."

Padres Designate Nelson Cruz For Assignment
mlbtraderumors.com/2023/07/padres… https://t.co/0EsoR3ex4m

The #Padres made the following roster moves today:

◦ Recalled LHP José Castillo, RHP Matt Waldron & INF Matthew Batten from El Paso

◦ Optioned RHP Domingo Tapia to El Paso, placed RHP Michael Wacha on the 15-day IL (right shoulder inflammation, retro to 7/2) & DFA’d DH Nelson… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Nelson Cruz, in his 19th MLB season and first with the San Diego Padres, was batting .245 with five home runs and 23 RBIs over 49 games. He has played for eight teams in his major league career, hitting 464 home runs with 1,325 RBIs and a .274 average.

Old friend has been DFA'd. Sad for him but father time has never lost. twitter.com/mlbtraderumors…

DFA’d CRUZ?!? What! He has been mid but better then Carpenter and hardly the worst players on this team. twitter.com/padres/status/…

Now this is what I call a bad vibe twitter.com/mlbtraderumors…

Melvin noted that the San Diego Padres moved to DFA Nelson Cruz as a matter of providing greater versatility for the team. While Cruz made a brief appearance at first base for San Diego this season, he has not played anywhere but DH since 2016. Melvin told reporters:

"I think it's more about versatility here now. We have a couple guys in here and (Matt Carpenter) that basically just DH. We needed to be able to give some guys some days off a little bit more, need a runner off the bench, need to have a little bit more versatility. So unfortunately, we had to make this move today."

He’ll get signed somewhere 🔥 twitter.com/mlbtraderumors…

Pour one out for Nelson Cruz twitter.com/padres/status/…

Best of luck to Nelson Cruz. Would love to see him stick around as a coach or one of those made up positions for retired players. KYAL twitter.com/padres/status/…

After playing for the Washington Nationals in 2022, Nelson Cruz signed with the San Diego Padres for the bargain basement price of $1 million for the 2023 season, meaning that the team gets off relatively cheaply in the case of his release.

Another DFA candidate, infielder/DH Matt Carpenter, is hitting a meager .178 but is signed to a $6.5 million contract for this season with a player option for 2024, making him a much more expensive player to jettison.

Only reason Carpenter survived is because he has a player option for next year. DH is a clear spot to upgrade for more offense in the offseason. twitter.com/mlbtraderumors…

Figured Nelly would be DFA'd at some point because of how small his contract was twitter.com/Padres/status/…

Unfortunate end, probably, to a great career for Nelson Cruz. #Padres could have shown a little more respect in their announcement twitter.com/Padres/status/…

Cruz was far from the lone reason that the Padres are mired in one of the most disappointing MLB campaigns of the season. San Diego, a fashionable pick to go to the World Series this year, after losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 NLCS, is 11 games out of first place in the NL West with a 39-46 record.

We’ll always have Mexico old man Cruz ✌🏾 twitter.com/padres/status/… https://t.co/K6JmlWMuQ6

Nelson Cruz likely to have options beyond the San Diego Padres

Nelson Cruz #32 of the San Diego Padres connects for a three-run RBI

Cruz, as beloved for his clubhouse presence as he is for his offensive ability, figures to be a quick, cheap pickup for a hitting-starved club with hopes of advancing to the postseason.

After turning 43 on July 1, the big bat could still find a home to play out the rest of his 19th MLB season.