Well this an unexpected Monday surprise.
That 26-year-old Cuban outfielder – star of “The Showcase” – is an Oakland Athletic. He has agreed to a four-year, $36 million contract.
Now I know there is a significant chance that Yoenis Cespedes could be a bust. But isn’t this the right time to take a chance like this? The A’s are not trying to compete this year or next year. Their hope is that they’ll get back into contention in a few years when they are hopefully moving into a new stadium in San Jose. Cespedes will have had a couple MLBÂ years under his belt by then and will be more of a known quantity. And if that known quantity is All-Star, middle-of-the-order run producer, then that’s even better.
Up until this morning, it sounded like the Miami Marlins were going to land Cespedes. A city with a large Cuban population seemed like a good fit for a Cuban player. But apparently Cespedes was shy about going to a city with a lot of media attention. So he chose to go to Oakland instead, on a shorter deal. So sometimes it pays to be that anonymous team that nobody pays attention to.
February 15th, 2012 - 6:59 pm
I’ve heard a couple of the ‘baseball pundits’ say the A’s signed him to eventually trade him. While Billy has never shied away from a trade, I don’t believe this to be true. I think (or hope) this was exactly what you said, the A’s trying to get a talented hitter for the sake of getting better.
9 Million a year isn’t a ton of money for a good hitter. -That’s what Josh Willingham got, and arguably Cespedes is more talented with a lower injury risk. If Yoenis pans out, he’ll be a steal. If he doesn’t pan out, it’s only* 4 years 36 mil.
*Only has a different meaning to the A’s, but 9 mil isn’t a backbreaker if the A’s are in S.J.