Yoenis Cespedes Rumors: Cubs, Marlins Driving up Price
By Editorial Staff
Yoennis Cespedes has yet to hit U.S. soil, but the Cuban native’s agents are still confident he will land in major league camp before the spring. According to ESPNChicago.com’s Bruce Levine, Cespedes is still awaiting his visa from the Dominican Republic before he’ll be able to conduct face-to-face meetings in the United States. Levine mentions the Cubs and Marlins are seriously eying the 26-year-old, though the White Sox, Tigers, Orioles, Yankees, Phillies, Indians and Rangers have all been tied to Cespedes this offseason. The Giants and the Blue Jays are two clubs that have come out and said they will not be pursuing the outfielder.
On the first of the month, it was reported that Cespedes and his representation would begin meeting face-to-face with potential suitors within the next seven to 10 days. We’ve hit day seven, and it appears the get-togethers could be delayed beyond the originally anticipated timeline. This delay is likely to be caused because Cespedes is still waiting on his visa from the DR. Cespedes was recently declared a resident of the Dominican.
Originally Cespedes’s agents were confident they’d have their client signed before the beginning of Spring Training. The residency process seemed to take a bit longer than expected, and Cespedes’s representation is now changing their tune a bit, his agents stating that they are “reasonably confident” the slugger will be signed in time for camp.
By the time he does hit camp, Cespedes figures to be a wealthy man. The delay in signing hasn’t caused clubs interest to wane in the Cuban defector. Levine heard from an industry source that Cespedes’s contract could reach as many as six years and as high as $60 million. Levine adds that the Cubs and Marlins may be the clubs driving up Cespedes’s price.
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