Yoenis Cespedes Rumors
By Editorial Staff
Earlier this week it was rumored that Yoennis Cespedes would be hitting the free agency market “any day now”. It’s still TBD if Cespedes will be declared a free agent before next week’s Winter Meetings in Dallas, but the buzz surrounding the Cuban-defector has remained high. Here’s a rundown of all of the news and notes regarding Cespedes that’s emerged over the past few days.
The Washington Nationals have been one of the more vocal teams expressing interest in Cespedes. The club is apparently looking at Cespedes as a “Plan B” if they are unable to bring in top free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. Washington’s general manager Mike Rizzo recently went to the Dominican Republic to scout Cespedes, and the Nationals have issued glowing reports on the soon-to-be free agent.
While Cespedes was the most known player Rizzo checked out during his time in the DR, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post is also reporting that Washington’s GM spent some time admiring another Cuban center fielder, Jorge Soler.
The Tigers are another club that is sending their GM to the Dominican for a closer look at Cespedes. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says this is a “very unusual” move for general manager Dave Dombrowski.
The Pirates have shown interest in Cespedes, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says Pittsburgh will back out of the bidding if Yoennis’s price tag starts “to get crazy”.
Atlanta is reportedly not planning on submitting a bid for Cespedes even though they are one of the team’s that have sent executives to the DR. Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says these were merely routine visits to the Braves Latin American operations rather than scouting trips to watch Cespedes.
Two American League East clubs, the Orioles and Rays, have been impressed with Cespedes, but neither rank as favorites to sign the center fielder. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times includes the Rays on the list of teams that won’t be able to afford Cespedes whenever he does reach the free agent market.
At this point it’s easier to list the teams not in on Cespedes than those that are. The guy’s price tag seems to be increasing by the day, and he is sure to cause quite the stir next week if he reaches free agency before the Winter Meetings.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.