masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOne and done.

That is it for Nelson Cruz and the Orioles. Cruz repeatedly said he was very interested in re-signing and the team showed interest in retaining him. But in the end, the Orioles were apparently unwilling to offer the 34-year-old Cruz a fourth year and he agreed today to a new deal with Seattle.

Cruz had a heckuva one season as an Oriole. He led the majors with 40 homers, posted his highest OPS (.859) since 2010 and could not have handled himself much better on and off the…One and done.

That is it for Nelson Cruz and the Orioles. Cruz repeatedly said he was very interested in re-signing and the team showed interest in retaining him. But in the end, the Orioles were apparently unwilling to offer the 34-year-old Cruz a fourth year and he agreed today to a new deal with Seattle.

Cruz had a heckuva one season as an Oriole. He led the majors with 40 homers, posted his highest OPS (.859) since 2010 and could not have handled himself much better on and off the field.

nelson-cruz-sidebar-under-lights-white.jpgCruz became the sixth Oriole to post a 40-homer season, joining Chris Davis, Brady Anderson, Frank Robinson, Jim Gentile and Rafael Palmeiro.

He set single-season career-highs in plate appearances (678), runs (87), hits (166), homers (40), RBIs (108), walks (55), extra-base hits (74) and total bases (322) and tied his career-high with 159 games played.

Should the Orioles have gambled that he could keep doing that for four more years or at least remain solid if not quite as good? Did he have his best year and it’s all downhill now?

Since he turned down the Orioles’ qualifying offer, the club will get a draft pick for losing Cruz. It will be a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds and will likely be somewhere from the 30th to 40th overall pick in the draft. It could turn into a pick in the high 20s if enough teams lose picks for signing players.

After having to settle for the Orioles’ one-year, $8 million deal last year, Cruz proved his value in 2014 and overcame the stigma of his 50-game suspension in 2013.

Few have been as strong a force in the Orioles clubhouse. He was a leader and a role model for young players. As a side note, he was awesome to deal with for reporters, always available, quotable and beyond respectful and courteous.

Cruz went 6-for-12 with two homers in the O’s American League Division Series win over Detroit and he hit a few other big homers along the way.

Now that he’s gone, how do the Orioles replace him and what is their next move?

Butch Davis to Minnesota: Congratulations are in order today for longtime Orioles minor league coach Butch Davis. He has been hired by the Minnesota Twins to serve as new manager Paul Molitor’s first base coach. Read more here.

Davis joined the Orioles in 1995 as a coach at Triple-A Rochester. From 1997-99, he managed in the Gulf Coast League for two seasons and for one at Single-A Delmarva. The last two years, he was a coach at Double-A Bowie, where he did strong work helping many players to improve, including outfield prospect Dariel Alvarez.