Yoenis Cespedes Rumors: First DWL Home Run and the Detroit Tigers
By Editorial Staff
It’s no secret that Yoennis Cespedes has struggled at the plate since joining the Dominican Winter League. While some have used this as reinforcement that Cespedes’s decision to join the DWL was a foolish one, Yoennis was able to show baseball fans a glimpse of the raw power scouts and analysts have been raving about this offseason. Cespedes was able to collect his first professional home run last night, and you can check out the power display here. In other Cespedes-related news, there’s rumors swirling regarding the degree of impact the Victor Martinez injury will have on the Detroit Tigers pursuit of the Cuban sensation.
Over his first five Dominican Winter League contests, Cespedes struggled to hit a ball out of the infield much less tally base hits. The 26-year-old got off to a 2-19 start, but last night Cespedes showed fans why he’s garnered so much attention this offseason.
Facing a full count with one down and the bases empty in the top of the 6th inning, Cespedes planted a 97 mph fastball deep and over the wall in left field.
This is the kind of production that has teams lining up to enter the bidding on Cespedes. While the Cubs, White Sox and Marlins have recently been tabbed as early frontrunners in the Cespedes sweepstakes, the Tigers are another club that has expressed significant interest in the outfielder.
Today, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press wondered if the injury to designated hitter Victor Martinez will affect the Tigers pursuit of Cespedes.
Lowe believes the loss of Martinez could both hurt and help Cespedes’s chances of landing with the Tigers. On one hand Lowe says the Tigers could look to use Cespedes’s potential to fill in for Martinez. On the other hand Lowe notes that some of the money that was earmarked for Cespedes may now have to be spent on a separate free agent hitter.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.