Yoenis Cespedes Rumors
By Editorial Staff
With most of the recent focus directed to Yu Darvish and Prince Fielder, it may have been easy to forget that Cuban center fielder Yoennis Cespedes is still waiting to find a home. Though the 26-year-old has yet to hit the open market, Cespedes could reach free agency any day. We’ve read reports of Cespedes’s astronomical asking price, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports hears from an unnamed general manager that Yoennis’s agent is extremely confident. Here are the latest Yoennis Cespedes rumors.
The general manager that Passan spoke with says that he’s “never seen a more confident agent” than Adam Katz, who is currently representing Cespedes. Passan notes that the new rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement have made the market for Cespedes “even bigger”. This has resulted in Katz apparently starting negotiations “at Chapman money”.
“Chapman money” is referring to the $30 million the Cincinnati Reds agreed to pay pitcher Aroldis Chapman in January of 2010. It should be emphasized that these are only the starting terms. It’s been reported that Katz is seeking twice what Chapman received for Cespedes. Think $60 million.
Not only that, but the unnamed GM thinks a team could give Cespedes anywhere from a “six-, seven-” or even an “eight-year deal”.
At the moment, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports lists the Tigers, Marlins, Yankees and Nationals as the favorites to land Cespedes this winter. According to Morosi, these are the teams that have been most active in scouting Cespedes.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.