‘Criminal Minds’ season 9 spoilers: Another new face with a JJ connection

So who is the latest addition to the world of “Criminal Minds”? This time around, we’re talking about someone who is not only going to lend the BAU team a valuable helping hand, but could be spending a good bit of time with AJ Cook’s character of JJ, primarily because the two characters have a little bit of a past.

According to TV Guide, this character’s name is Matt Cruz, who is a longtime member of the FBI and is certainly going to shake things up a little bit with his skills. The role will be played by Esai Morales, a “Caprica” star who also has a resume that includes a stint on “Law & Order: SVU” (which many people do, considering that the show is older then the bottle of hot sauce in our fridge).

As for who Cruz will be answering to, the simple answer seems to be Hotch for the time being. Thomas Gibson’s character will be at least temporarily running the ship following the death of Strauss, though that is always open to change. Personally, we figure that the future of the BAU will depend largely on how the show evolves, as things do very much change over time, and that means that chemistry and audience feedback will probably play a role.

Given that “Criminal Minds” has been around almost a full decade, though, that is plenty of time to easily say that the folks running the show have a pretty great idea of what they’re doing.

What do you think about this casting? If you do want to also check out some more scoop about an awesomely scary appearance coming up from “Once Upon a Time” star David Anders, just be sure to visit the link here.

Photo: CBS