When the Red Sox traded impending free-agent left-hander Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics for power-hitting outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, it appeared Boston won the trade because they would get at least another year out of Cespedes. Well, it doesn't appear that way right now.
Cespedes was believed to be a piece that would help solve the weak Boston outfield. But since acquiring him, the Red Sox also added Allen Craig in a trade with the Cardinals and Rusney Castillo via free agency. They also have Shane Victorino returning from injury to go along with Daniel Nava and Mookie Betts (who is a second baseman, but has played outfield while Dustin Pedroia remains with Boston). It was reported a little while back that the Red Sox could trade Cespedes, and it's now looking like a reality.
Boston was initially in discussions with Cespedes' old agent, Adam Katz, about a four-to-five year contract, but Cespedes switched over to Roc Nation Sports for representation and is expecting to seek a longer and more lucrative deal. In addition to that, the Red Sox have a plethora of outfielders and don't need to deal with Cespedes' refusal to play right field, which is where the team wants him to remain because his defense isn't good enough to play left field efficiently. And his attitude brings us to our next and final points:
"Two other reasons the Red Sox are open to dealing Cespedes are his open disenchantment with Boston and his refusal to pay any heed to their coaches," writes Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, via a Red Sox insider. "He marches to his own drum and the coaches all hate him."
That's probably not the best thing for the Red Sox organization to let out prior to dealing Cespedes, but the 30-year-old outfielder will likely gauge interest because of his power bat and his bargain price for 2015. The teams that lose out on the Yasmany Tomas sweepstakes could then turn to Boston to work out a deal for Cespedes.
Speaking of Cespedes, Castillo and Tomas, these three men defected from Cuba to pursue MLB contracts. And there's another young Cuban who is doing so - 21-year-old second baseman Andy Ibanez. Ben Badler of Baseball America reported on Monday that Ibanez has left Cuba after three seasons in Serie Nacional and will be subject to the bonus pools upon his arrival to the MLB, meaning he will not command a large contract like past Cuban defectors.
Ibanez is ranked the No. 8 overall prospect in Cuba by Baseball America and is considered a promising young player that is expected to begin his MLB career in Class A or Double-A. He's the third second baseman as of recent weeks to defect from Cuba, along with Hector Olivera and Jose Fernandez.
