Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, who agreed to terms on a two-year, $16 million deal plus incentives on Thursday, said it was "difficult" to try to move on from coming so close to winning a championship.

“You always want to complete a goal, especially back-to-back years and not making it,” said Cruz, who got a virus in the Dominican Republic shortly after the playoffs that caused him to lose weight. He's been treated in the United States and says he feels fine. “You’ve got to get over it. You don’t always get what you want. The whole team, the coaching staff, we have to make sure we get better, whatever we need to do to get better to make sure we get back to the World Series and win it all.”

Cruz said he trusted his instincts on the ball that was hit by David Freese in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Rangers one strike away from a title.

"I should have been closer to the wall," Cruz said.

But he said his instincts told him to play shallow in right field and he wasn't able to get all the way back to the wall to catch it. The two-out, two-strike triple scored two runs to tie the score and the eventually Cardinals won the game in the 11th (on a Freese home run) and won the World Series in seven games.

Cruz said he and his teammates will "keep fighting" to reach their ultimate goal of a title.