MLB Rumors: Orioles, White Sox emerging as leaders for Yoenis Cespedes
The slow-to-develop market for free agent Yoenis Cespedes appears to be heating up before 2015 officially ends and two teams are stepping to the front of the pack.
Yoenis Cespedes has sat on the sidelines for quite a bit of time this offseason, as the outfield market has been slow to take off amid a lack of suitors. However, it appears that things could change quickly for Cespedes as a pair of potential new homes have stepped to the forefront.
According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles have stepped to the front of the line in terms of bidding for Cespedes’ services in 2016 and beyond. The Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants also remain in the mix.
Yoenis Cespedes market taking shape. Source: CWS & BAL emerging as leaders for now. LAA & SFG also in the mix with TX monitoring situation.
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) December 29, 2015
Cespedes has become frequently traveled over the last two season. He started the 2014 season with the Oakland Athletics before being included in the now-infamous Jon Lester swap with the Boston Red Sox. After a half season with Boston, the Red Sox flipped him to the Detroit Tigers for starter Rick Porcello. The Tigers in turn used him as trade bait at the deadline, landing a pair of minor league arms from the New York Mets.
While Cespedes has moved around quite a bit, he’s still managed to stay productive during that span. After finishing 2014 as a down year, posting a 3.3-win season on the back of a .260/.301/.450 slash-line and 22 home runs, the outfielder rebounded well in his time with Detroit and New York. He slashed .291/.328/.542 with 35 home runs and 105 RBI to put together a career best 6.7 WAR.
Cespedes would be a solid fit for both the Orioles and the White Sox, providing a big bat in the middle of both line-ups while upgrading both teams in the outfield. Ideally, the White Sox would prefer a left-handed bat in a decidedly right-handed line-up, but Cespedes may come cheaper than would Alex Gordon at this stage of the winter. He also wouldn’t cost the either team a draft pick, as his contract prevented such an arrangement (hence the reason he was traded so often over the last two seasons).
It remains to be seen what kind of deal the 30-year-old can expect. MLB Trade Rumors pegged him for six-year, $140 million deal before the winter. However, given how slow his market was to develop and the lack of money with would-be suitors, I find it hard to believe he’ll find that type of deal on today’s market.