CLEVELAND (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays added a big bat for the remainder of the season, acquiring slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

Moments before opening a four-game series at Cleveland, the Rays, who entered Thursday one game behind first-place Boston in the AL East, announced they got Cruz and minor leaguer Calvin Faucher from Minnesota in exchange for right-handers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman.

The 41-year-old Cruz has 436 career homers. He’ll bring some pop to Tampa Bay’s lineup and should help the Rays against left-handers. They entered the series batting .226 versus lefties.

The designated hitter is batting .294 with 19 homers and 50 RBIs this season.

With a week until the trade deadline and no shot at the postseason, the Twins figured they’d get something for Cruz to begin building toward 2021. Minnesota entered Thursday at 41-55.

A 17-year veteran, Cruz signed a one-year, $13 million deal with Minnesota in February. He spent nearly three seasons with the Twins after four in Seattle. Cruz has also played with Baltimore and Texas.

Cruz hit at least 37 homers per season from 2014-19. He belted a career-high 44 homers for the Mariners in 2015.

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