MLB · P · New York Yankees
Fernando Cruz
B/T R/R · 6' 2" · 237 lb · born Bayamon, Puerto Rico · age 36 · draft 2007 rd 6 · played P 61 · MLB debut 2022-09-02
Last 14 days (through 2026-09-03): 2 G · 2.1 IP · 7.71 ERA · 2 SO · 1.29 WHIP
Injured 15-Day · Right elbow discomfort. (roster status, as of )
234 batters faced scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Fernando Cruz is 36, from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, drafted in the sixth round back in 2007 and finally debuting in 2022. He has 365 career strikeouts in 249 games, and the Yankees are still running him out there every few days.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
What he’s paid
ArbitrationA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s, as of .
- 2026 salary
- $1.45M
- Tax hit
- $1.45M
- Service time
- 3 yr 35 d
- Options left
- 3 / 3
The deal 1 year $1.4M (2026)
On the sheet: 1 y/$1.45M (26) · agent Suarez, Gomez & Assoc.
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | Arb 2 | Arb 3 | Free agent |
| Tax hit | — | — | — |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, New York Yankees.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $1.45M
- Guaranteed
- $1.45M
- Term
- 1 yr
- His class
- Arb
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | Arb 1 | Arb 2 | Arb 3 |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
Two sources, read a month apart, put this guarantee at the same dollar. That is the check, and it passed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Fernando Cruz
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Fernando Cruz cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Fernando Cruz
The scouting press, in their own words
Fernando Cruz said a decision hasn’t been made on whether to undergo Tommy John surgery. He said he had been dealing with discomfort for three weeks or so. He pitched through similar symptoms a few times earlier in his career and thought he could pitch through it again.
Fernando Cruz has a partially torn UCL in his right elbow, Aaron Boone said. Undergoing Tommy John surgery is on the table.
Boone said Fernando Cruz has a partial tear of the UCL. Will get a second opinion. But Tommy John surgery is on the table.
Umpire favor
+1.0 net runs over 22 graded games — the zone was kind to the umpire on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →