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TORONTO (AP) — Late in the season http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-mike-trout-jersey , as rumors of potential managerial openings swirled around baseball, Charlie Montoyo and fellow Tampa Bay Rays coaches Rocco Baldelli and Matt Quatraro started playing a game. When word of an expected vacancy surfaced, one member of the trio would slip that team’s media guide into the others’ locker. The suggestion: If someone comes calling you in the offseason, you’d better have done your homework.As it turned out, no one ever put a Blue Jays media guide in Montoyo’s locker, even though he saw Toronto as an enticing opportunity.“We were saying, that’s going to be a good job,” Montoyo said Monday in his first public appearance as the 13th manager in Blue Jays history. “This is an exciting team right here, for sure.”By the time Montoyo found out Toronto wanted to talk to him, there was no time to prepare.“I couldn’t Kole Calhoun Jersey ,” he said. “It happened that fast.”Montoyo might not have known the Blue Jays organization inside out, but that didn’t stop him from becoming Toronto GM Ross Atkins’ preferred candidate. A week ago Sunday, about an hour after Rays GM Erik Neander told Montoyo the Blue Jays were interested in him, Atkins was calling to chat. Two days later, Montoyo was in Toronto to interview. By Thursday, the job was his.“He really fit our criteria the best before he ever set foot in our building,” Atkins said. “Excitement would be putting it lightly. I’m elated.”The Blue Jays had consecutive losing seasons under John Gibbons after making back-to-back AL Championship Series appearances in 2015 and 2016, but Montoyo said he sees plenty to look forward to.“It almost reminds me of the team we had in Tampa,” Montoyo said. “A lot of younger kids, there’s going to have to be a lot of player development. It’s going to be a fun team to manage.”Montoyo Garrett Richards Jersey , whose only big league playing experience was a four-game stint with Montreal in 1993, was later a minor league teammate of Expos great Vladimir Guerrero. In Toronto, his top prospect will be the Hall of Famer’s son, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit .381 with 20 homers at Double-A and Triple-A this past season.“To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen him play, but I’m looking forward to it,” Montoyo said.Montoyo served as bench coach for Rays manager Kevin Cash last season, moving back into the dugout after three years as Tampa Bay’s third base coach. Before that, he spent 18 seasons as a minor league manager in the Rays system Andrew Heaney Jersey , winning seven International League South Division titles and two Governors’ Cup championships (2009, 2013) with Triple-A Durham. He also worked with the Puerto Rican team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.Acknowledging he has yet to discuss specifics with Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro, Montoyo said fans shouldn’t expect him to copy Tampa Bay’s use of opening pitchers and four-man outfield alignments.“Just because I come from Tampa Bay doesn’t mean we’re going to do everything they did over there,” Montoyo said. “We’re a different team and we’re going to adjust to what we have.”One thing he will try to bring, however, is the goal of defying expectations for a young, unheralded team. Tampa Bay won 90 games this season, making a push for a wild-card berth in the final weeks of September. Previously, Shapiro and Atkins both suggested it could take two to four years for Toronto’s rebuild to bear fruit.“From the first game of spring training, we’re going to play to win Huston Street Jersey ,” Montoyo said.Montoyo said he was proud to put on a Blue Jays jersey for the first time Monday, one day after fellow Puerto Rican Alex Cora led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series title.“There’s a lot of happiness in Puerto Rico now and I’m proud of that,” he said. The Minnesota Twins have beaten out the opposing clubs to sign free-agent, Nelson Cruz.Cruz's contract is reportedly worth $14.3 million for this upcoming season. He will also be receiving a team option worth $12 million for the 2020 season. If the Twins decide not to exercise his option, then the buyout for him would cost $300K.The Twins were reportedly not the only team interested in signing Cruz either. There were also two other teams that were seriously interested in his services. Those teams included the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays.#Astros plan was to team Cruz with Michael Brantley and make their deep offense deeper. #Rays were willing to do a second splurge (for their market) after Charlie Morton. But #Twins won out on Cruz.— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 27, 2018advertisingCruz will turn 39-years-old on Canada Day, but for those of you who are reading this outside of Canada, it will just be July 1, 2018. The veteran has still been a very productive hitter despite being in his late 30's.Last season showed signs of a little regression from what Cruz has produced in the last few seasons before. However, the six-time All-Star was still able to record 37 home-runs http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-rod-carew-jersey , 97 RBI's along with a .256 batting average.Those 37 home-runs ranked Cruz eighth in home-runs throughout the American League. Which shows he can still produce at an All-Star level, which is also why he was able to command $14 million for next season.advertising Sporting NewsAlthough, last season may be the start of what's to come for Cruz. Even though he mainly only has to worry about hitting, he is starting to show signs that he won't be around the game for much longer.Cruz's slugging percentage was the one big regressions he suffered last season. His percentage dropped .040 from just the season before. He also appeared in the fewest games in a season since 2013.He was benched in those games due to him needing more rest and time to recover. Which definitely shows that this could continue for the remaining seasons that he is in the league for. This is a big reason why he also only received a contract that guarantees him for just one season.advertisingThere's no question that he will still be a productive hitter for the Twins next season. It's just a matter of question if he will be able to appear in more than 140 games next season, due to needing more rest between games and series he plays in.What This MeansCruz should provide the Twins with that middle of the order bat that they will be able to pair next to Miguel Sano in their lineup. Even with him being towards the end of his career, he should still be able to produce at least 30 home runs and around 90 RBI's next season.However, if the Twins exercise the second year in his contract then this will likely be the last deal he will ever sign in the MLB. Because it would be hard to imagine a lot of teams lining up to sign a 40-year-old player who can only serve as the designated hitter.