Nelson Cruz Hired As Advisor Working In Latin America

The Los Angeles Dodgers are continuing to pursue upgrades to their roster, but that has not stopped their other offseason work as well.

On the player side, Shohei Ohtani is of course the biggest name being pursued. The Dodgers are also involved in the starting pitching market, most notably with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dylan Cease.

On the coaching front, the Dodgers were fortunate to keep their staff intact, and their front office has remained in place as well.

However, they did make an addition to their front office as they reportedly hired Nelson Cruz as an advisor who will spend most his time working in Latin America, according to Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic:

The Dodgers are hiring seven-time All-Star Nelson Cruz to join their front office as an adviser, a league source said. The 43-year-old, who announced his retirement after a 19-year career earlier this month, will spend most of his time working with the organization in Latin America.

Cruz joining the Dodgers front office was first reported in Spanish by Tenchy Rodriguez of Z101.

Cruz, a native of the Dominican Republic, was previously at Dodgers Minor League camp working with players in October. He also makes his permanent home in Las Matas De Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic.

He spent last season in the San Diego Padres organization, appearing in 49 games before he was released in early July.

On Novemeber 2, 2023, Cruz announced his retirement after 19 MLB seasons where he was one of the most feared hitters in the league. He retired with a .274/.343/.513 slash line with 464 home runs, 1,325 RBI, 1,090 runs scored and 2,055 games played.

The Dodgers previously tried to sign Cruz as a player before the 2022 season, but he ended up joining the Washington Nationals instead.

Over his career, he spent most of his time with the Texas Rangers (8 seasons), and also played for the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins, along with the aforementioned Padres and Nationals.

Nelson Cruz carrer accolades

Cruz earned seven all-star appearances in his career and was a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He was also named the American League Championship Series MVP in 2011 for the Rangers.

He also lead MLB in home runs with 40 in 2014, and he finished as the top RBI man in 2017 with 119.

Cruz represented the Dominican Republic national baseball team in the 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, and in 2023 he also served as the team’s general manager.

Cruz and his club won the 2013 WBC and he was named to the All-WBC team.