Even at 42, Padres' Nelson Cruz is still what the Twins need

Nelson Cruz confirmed on Tuesday that the Padres have a nap room at Petco Park. We all know what it means for Cruz to have a nap room: He was the reason the Twins added one while courting him before the 2019 season.

It was suggested that he could borrow the Twins' room, for old times' sake, this week as they play host to his Padres.

"Ha ha," Cruz said with a grin. "They are going to close it to me over there."

Cruz was back with his latest new team in San Diego, which has designs on toppling the Dodgers for NL West supremacy. The Padres entered Tuesday with an 18-17 record while trying to unleash their best offense, much like the Twins. Yet it was more of the same, with the teams taking a 1-1 tie into the seventh inning. The Twins committed three errors in the seventh as San Diego scored two runs to take a 3-1 lead it would not relinquish.

Manny Machado did come up with a big blow, adding a three-run homer in the ninth as the Padres won 6-1. And many among the announced crowd of 16,882 booed the Twins' lackluster offense and defensive foibles.

"I'd boo myself, too, with the amount of money I'm making, if I'm playing like that and I'm in the stands coming to [a game]," said Carlos Correa, who was 0-for-5 (0-for-3 with runners in scoring position) to drop his batting average to .185.

"Obviously, it's acceptable," he said of the reaction. "It's part of the game, part of sports. Fans want production and fans want a team that's going to compete out there and win games. It's to be expected when you play poorly. But at the same time, the work doesn't stop. I'm going to keep working and keep focusing on the things I can't control and the results will come.

The venerable Cruz, 42, watched the game from the dugout. He was not in the starting lineup, and he wasn't needed. You know who needed him? The Twins, who are coming off a road trip during which they batted .141. On Tuesday, they were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and were 6-for-33 (.182) overall.

Cruz hit 76 home runs in two-and-a-half seasons with the Twins before being traded to Tampa Bay for Joe Ryan in 2021. The Twins needed pitching and, in the long run, you take arms over bats. But the Twins haven't had a middle-of-the-order force since Cruz was dealt. He's batting 269 with three homers and 16 RBI — and the Twins would gladly take that now. He has hit 61 homers since turning 40, third on the career list behind Barry Bonds and Carlton Fisk.

San Diego has a stacked lineup, and Cruz was brought in to be their Don Baylor.

"That's the goal to play [for a championship]," Cruz said. "You go to situations where you can try to win. And to be able to play two of the three years I was here was special. Good times. Teammates, coaches and front office."

But the Padres are getting more than a veteran hitter. They are getting an inspirational clubhouse presence who exudes professionalism.

"We have that now in this room, but as a new manager and as a team that was kind of coming together a few years ago, bringing him in was probably one of our most important and best moves that we could have made," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I couldn't have been happier to have him along for the ride. He was and is a very special guy."

Cruz remains in touch with his former teammates — about 10 Twins remain from Cruz's final days here — and he occasionally checks in with staff members. He's even swapped texts with Baldelli. It's unclear if he's requested use of the nap room here which, apparently, none of the current Twins are using.

And it's unclear if Rocco begged Cruz to come back.