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The Orioles offered Yoenis Cespedes $90 million and are tired of waiting on Chris Davis
Friday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes Yoenis Cespedes’ offer, the Dee Gordon extension and the Rays’ search for a new stadium.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
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Yoenis Cespedes can’t seem to get anyone interested in him for the supposed $150 million he was looking for. At least he has a somewhat legitimate offer now, though, as the Orioles have reportedly discussed a deal between $75-90 million for five years. This contract offer exists because Baltimore is tired of waiting for Chris Davis to make up his mind about whether he’s coming back to the O’s. Even $90 million might not be enough to convince Cespedes to sign, but it could be just what Davis needs to make a decision one way or another.
If Cespedes accepts an offer from Baltimore, then Davis no longer has his primary suitor. That could complicate his offseason, though he is a Scott Boras client, so let’s not count him out just yet. The Orioles showing they are willing to move on could spur Davis to either more seriously reenter talks with them, or break things off completely. At the very least it would allow Baltimore to move on with their offseason plans, and it’s not like they are just a Chris Davis or Yoenis Cespedes away, you know.
Will $90 million be enough for Cespedes? That’s $18 million per year, which isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s probably less than Cespedes expected to be paid after switching his agent in 2014 and hitting 35 homers in 2015. Remember, Cespedes jumped to Roc Nation while with the Red Sox supposedly because he thought he could do better than the extension his then-agent was negotiating with Boston. It’s hard to imagine said extension negotiations were for much less than Baltimore’s offer. What will Cespedes do? Given how this offseason has gone of late, it’s probably too early to know the answer to that.
- Michael Baumann joined Baseball Prospectus and debuted on Thursday, so if you missed him after the untimely demise of Grantland, worry not.
- Jose Reyes is set to stand trial for the domestic violence committed against his wife. There is still no word on when baseball will levy its own punishment against Reyes, how long a suspension would be for or if he will be suspended at all. The trial should help answer those questions, however.
- These are the biggest remaining holes on every National League team, and these are the biggest remaining holes on every American League squad.
- The Rays were granted permission to seek out new sites to build a stadium, but only in Tampa Bay.
- The Marlins were wise to extend Dee Gordon, who just might have a knack for contact and can play a quality second.
- The Major League Scouting Bureau is restructuring under former GM Bill Bavasi.
- Braves general manager John Coppolella answered fan questions on Twitter, which is just the kind of thing the organization probably needs to do to keep a connection with the fan base during this rebuilding phase.
- Speaking of the Braves, if Andruw Jones had come into the league 10 years later, he'd be an Atlanta legend thanks to how defense is measured these days.
- At this time, the A's are unsure of their future thanks to the Raiders' attempts to bail on Oakland. It's worth being reminded that the Giants paid for most of their stadium with their own money.
- Now that the Royals have Alex Gordon back, what does their payroll look like during his deal?
- Larry Lucchino is a divisive figure among Red Sox fans, and while he has his flaws, he's a worthy candidate to the organization's Hall of Fame.
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