Yoenis Cespedes Could Hit Free Agency “Any Day” Now
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Yoennis Cespedes’s “temporary Dominican Republic residency request should be approved any day”. Brown says this would allow Major League Baseball to confirm Cespedes’s status as a free agent.
Cespedes has already garnered much attention this offseason. The Marlins, Cubs, Red Sox and Tigers have checked out the Cuban-defector’s private workouts, and scouts from a majority of major league clubs have ventured to the DR to take a closer look at Cespedes.
If Browns’ beliefs holds true, Adam Katz, Cespedes’s agent, would be able to present his client to teams at next week’s Winter Meetings.
The 26-year-old center fielder has been called the best player to emerge from Cuba this generation by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Other scouts have said Cespedes has the potential to be a 30-30 guy who is built like a running back.
Brown says that Cespedes will likely be more sought-after than the current crop of free agent outfielders including Carlos Beltran and Michael Cuddyer.
With numerous suitors, Cespedes’ price tag has seemingly been increasing by the day. Originally it was reported that Yoennis would fetch a deal comparable to fellow Cuban Aroldis Chapman ($30 million). Reports have since surfaced speculating Cespedes is more likely to receive a deal in the $35-60 million range. It’s been reported that one club already has an offer on the table for Cespedes for eight years and $10 million up front.
Brown includes the long list of teams that have checked in on Cespedes so far: Giants, Pirates, A’s, Indians, Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, Cubs, Nationals, Marlins and Phillies.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.