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Yoenis Cespedes wants $150 million and no one wants to give it to him
Monday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes Yoenis Cespedes’ contract hopes, David Ortiz’s special talents and appreciation for Brian Cashman’s trades.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
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Yoenis Cespedes is one of the many free agents who, to the surprise of many, are still classified as such at this late date. If the note Nick Cafardo dropped into his Sunday column in the Boston Globe is any indication, though, we can probably figure out how he’s still around to be signed in a hurry: Cespedes’ camp has “bandied” about a $150 million deal for around six years, and there just might be too many outfielders left for him to get that contract.
The Mets and Tigers, who both had Cespedes in 2015, are waiting around to see if he can be signed for less than that. In the Mets’ case, the “less than that” likely means a total collapse of his market and options outside of a return to New York. For the Tigers, it probably means getting the money and years low enough that the side of the front office that isn’t enamored with re-signing Cespedes is placated. The Tigers are reportedly looking for “complementary” outfielders at present, so they don’t seem to feel forced into giving Cespedes exactly what he wants.
Cespedes will sign eventually, but with Justin Upton, Dexter Fowler and Gerardo Parra out there, as well as potential rebound candidates who will cost far less, the where and when remain in question. It’s also possible that, even outside of his own contract demands, Cespedes has to wait around for the Orioles to finish one way or another with Chris Davis, since Upton is their fallback option and Davis is the most expensive free agent remaining. We might be about a month out from spring training, but there is still a whole lot of offseason left as far as free agents go.
- Kansas’ governor made a joke about taxes and Alex Gordon on Twitter, and it didn’t go well for him.
- Trading Ben Revere might have opened up a permanent spot on the Blue Jays for Dalton Pompey.
- Quality, not quantity, has been the White Sox’s problem at third base. One that Todd Frazier might be able to solve.
- The Cardinals are close to signing Korean pitcher Seung Hwan Oh, whose nickname is Final Boss. They’ll need to do something about that nickname with Trevor Rosenthal entrenched as the closer.
- The Dodgers have the most fascinating rotation in baseball, a description that is not to be confused with “best rotation.”
- The Yankees are noticed for their big spending, but it’s Brian Cashman’s history of trading that has kept them going over the years.
- We’re entering the last season of David Ortiz’s career, so let’s take a moment to appreciate his absurd combination of plate discipline and power.
- A number of things could be delaying any trade of Carlos Gonzalez, and not all of them are the Rockies’ fault!
- The Giants have made three significant moves this offseason. How much did all that spending improve them for 2016?
- There is a David Bowie and baseball connection you might not be aware of. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to live on his Spotify page for the rest of the day.
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SB Nation presents: All that’s happened with the Dodgers during Vin Scully’s tenure
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