The forgotten Mariners slugger who boasts an argument for the Hall of Fame

Nelson Cruz was an absolute terror during his four-year run with the Seattle Mariners. From 2015 to 2018, the slugger averaged 41 homers, 104 RBI and a 148 OPS+ in the middle of the lineup, establishing himself as one of the game's biggest, albeit underappreciated, power hitters.

The offseason is always a fun time to look back at past Mariners and ponder Hall of Fame possibilities, especially with the Classic Baseball Era vote incoming at the Winter Meetings. Cruz, while an admitted long shot for a variety of factors, definitely warrants more consideration than he'll likely get when he makes his first appearance on the ballot in 2029.

He's facing an uphill battle, to be sure. Cruz didn't make his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers until he was already 24 years old, putting him behind the eight-ball right away as he sought to write a Cooperstown-worthy resume. That late start, paired with his 50-game PED suspension in 2013, likely dooms him in the eyes of many BBWAA voters.

But what he did on the field was special. From 2009 to 2021, the peak years of his career, Cruz hit more home runs than any other player (437) and drove in 1,220 runs, more than any player during that stretch not named Albert Pujols. His 1,011 runs during that span rank seventh - a testament to his incredible consistency.

Cruz first made a name for himself as a member of the Texas Rangers, helping the club reach the World Series in 2010 and 2011, earning ALCS MVP honors in 2011 against the Tigers. He absolutely massacred Detroit's pitching in that series, slashing .364/.440/1.273 in six games. That's right. He slugged 1.273 in that League Championship Series.

His postseason resume, on the whole, is impressive: 18 home runs and a .979 OPS in 187 at-bats. He may have never won a ring, but he made his presence felt in October.

Coming off that PED suspension, Cruz inked a one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles and immediately showed he had plenty left to offer. He led the league, smacking 40 home runs and driving in 108 runs, earning the first All-Star selection of his career and finishing seventh in American League MVP voting.

That one-year stint paid off handsomely, as he parlayed it into a four-year, $57 million deal with the M's. Cruz teamed up with Robinson Cano to form one of the league's most powerful combinations for much of that contract, earning three All-Star nods and a pair of Silver Sluggers during his time in Seattle.

Well into his 30s by the time that contract drew to a close, Cruz closed out his career with two-plus seasons in Minnesota and cups of coffee with Tampa Bay, Washington and San Diego before officially hanging up his spikes last fall after nearly two decades in the big leagues.

Given his obvious defensive shortcomings as someone who spent more than half of his career as a DH, another knock against Cruz will be his career WAR total (42.1 bWAR). There's been a longstanding anti-DH bias with the voting body but, even so, that number falls well short of two recent designated hitter inductees Edgar Martinez (68.4) and David Ortiz (55.3)

His best chance at Cooperstown will likely come down the road via the Era Committee. Right now, there's no appetite for players with direct connections to PEDs getting enshrined in the Hall of Fame. If guys like Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds aren't getting consideration, there's no chance Cruz's resume changes anyone's thinking.

I'll leave you with this. In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been only seven players with at least 7,500 trips to the plate who played at least half their games as a DH. Four of the seven are already in the Hall. Could Cruz be the fifth? Maybe someday. One thing's for sure: his four-year run with the Mariners is something that will stand the test of time.