The veteran first baseman has been officially traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Boston Red Sox.
C.J. Cron, a veteran first baseman, was invited to spring training by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday and signed a minor league contract.Cron started working with the team on Sunday. According to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, the right-hand hitter will probably play his first spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 11.
After playing for the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels the previous season, Cron, 34, was a free agent. Despite having back problems, he played in 71 games and batted a combined.248 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.
After the Angels selected Cron with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Cron played for the Angels (2014–17, 2023), Tampa Bay Rays (2018), Minnesota Twins (2019), Detroit Tigers (2020), and Rockies (2021–23) for ten seasons.
In 1,049 games, Cron has hit.260 with a.320 on-base percentage, a.471 slugging percentage, 187 home runs, and 604 RBIs.
He was chosen for the All-Star Game in 2022 and had a career-high 102 RBIs in addition to 29 home runs, which was his best season as a power hitter.
Cron is officially signed as a minor league player, but it is unlikely that he will be sent to Worcester before opening day.
As a XX-B free agent, he will be guaranteed his release or receive a $100,000 retention bonus to keep him with the team through June 1st, should the Red Sox decide not to include him on the Opening Day roster.
Bobby Dalbec’s path to a roster spot became more difficult less than two weeks after Alex Cora told reporters he had a chance to make the team on Opening Day.
That is because, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Boston signed former All-Star C.J. Cron to a minor league contract on Friday morning. Cron will earn $2 million with incentives that could total up to $500,000 more if he makes the Opening Day roster, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
