What It Means:

“I don’t see it [soon]," Cruz said of retirement. "A lot of people who retire from baseball do it because injuries start to come. They kill you during the game, and you don’t want to be in pain. You start to not perform the way you used to, and the game takes you out. But my body is in good shape, and I’m doing everything I can to keep it that way. Why would I retire?” Cruz turned 40 on Wednesday, but he cranked out 40 homers in 120 games last year with a career-high 1.031 OPS. If the National League keeps the designated hitter beyond 2020, then Cruz should be able to keep slugging for years to come. He's recorded at least 37 dingers and 93 RBI in six straight seasons.

numberFire's models project Cruz to bat .279 with 14 homers, 40 RBI, and 32 runs scored in 216 plate appearances this season.