Yoenis Cespedes to be free agent after 2015 season

By trading Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics along with Jonny Gomes, the Boston Red Sox acquired some much needed pop for their outfield and for their lineup more generally by adding Yoenis Cespedes.

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Additionally, they swapped a true rental for an extra season of team control with Cespedes. Once the 2015 season is up, however, the Red Sox will see Cespedes hit free agency because of an interesting clause in his contract.

Granted, the Boston front office could still pursue an extension to keep the Cuban outfielder in town for the long term, but otherwise, Cespedes hits free agency after his first full season in Boston.

Furthermore, the Red Sox will not have the protection of the qualifying offer to make sure they don’t lose Cespedes for nothing. According to Dave Cameron of FanGraphs:

It should be interesting to see how Cespedes fits in Boston. So far in his young career he has been solid but not necessarily outstanding. He is a career .262/.318/.470 hitter with 66 home runs. This season he is batting .256/.303/.464, a slight improvement on 2013 but down from his rookie season back in 2012.

Cespedes will present an immediate upgrade over Boston’s current options in the outfield, but will that be enough for the bright lights of Boston? While Cespedes certainly has the goods to be a star, he has not emerged as such just yet. You better believe Boston will expect him to be one, making this a story to watch between now and the winter after the 2015 season.