The Orioles’ signing of Nelson Cruz over the weekend and the likelihood that Ray Rice will be back with the Ravens next fall are tough bottom-line acknowledgments of the times that we live in.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, a team might have dropped a player who had been accused of assaulting a woman, as Rice was, after the release of the now infamous Atlantic City casino video last week.
Even if you allow that the footage that we’ve seen only shows the end of an incident in which police allege that Rice struck his fiancée, it’s difficult to see that film and not wonder why the Ravens haven’t cut ties with Rice, just for public relations purposes. But then, you recall that the team has previously stuck by Terrell Suggs and SamariRolle, when they were accused of domestic violence, and stayed the course when Ray Lewis was charged with double homicide, so there’s already a track record of supporting talented players in legal difficulty.
To be fair, Rice not only has a previously clean record, but has carried out a very visible anti-bullying campaign. Until last season, Rice was one of the NFL’s most dynamic players, with a combined 9,200 yards in rushing and pass receiving in just six years.
Rice, who is 27, was hampered with injuries last year and had a subpar 2013 season. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh may believe that the 5-foot-9 running back will have a turnaround 2014 season and should return to the Baltimore backfield on merit.
However, there is likely a pragmatic reason for Rice’s likely return and that’s money.
Rice is in the third year of a five-year $40 million contract that included a $24 million signing bonus. The Ravens could cut Rice and not have to pay him a penny in 2014, as his deal, like those of most NFL players is not guaranteed. However, because of the bizarre NFL salary cap, the team would lose roughly $5 million in cap space if they cut him before June. They could wait until then and release him, saving $4 million this year, but they would lose $9 million in succeeding years.
To paraphrase soul singer Johnnie Taylor, it will be cheaper to keep Rice, even if doing so involves public embarrassment.
Meanwhile, in signing Cruz, a 33-year-old two-time All-Star with 135 home runs in the last five seasons, the Orioles have seemingly filled a gap in their batting order, meaning someone to hit behind first baseman Chris Davis. In the process, however, they have ceded whatever moral high ground they might have had, as Cruz was suspended for 50 games late last year for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy, a policy that Davis and teammate Nick Markakis strongly endorsed. Cruz has said that a gastrointestinal infection led him to seek performance enhancing drugs after the 2012 season. He said the decision not to challenge his suspension was quote out of his hands unquote.
There were other players the Orioles could have signed, but, at $8 million for one year, Nelson Cruz may be the best they could do.
And sometimes, life, even in sports, is all about making the best of a bad situation.