30
2011
Nationals Strong On Cespedes, Even Stronger On Fielder
An article by 
The Washington Nationals have made no secret of their goal to add an impact power bat to their lineup this offseason. GM Mike Rizzo is currently in the Dominican Republic scouting Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The Nationals believe Cespedes is big league ready and believe the right-handed-hitting slugger would fit nicely with Michael Morse and Jayson Werth in the middle of the lineup.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Nationals view Cespedes as an alternative to Prince Fielder and revisited talks with the Cuban outfielder after talks with Fielder slowed. However, Fielder is STILL the Nationals’ top offensive target and every effort is being made to sign the 27-year-old slugger. Cespedes is Plan B for the Nats.
Original Post 11/26
John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Cuban sensation Yoennis Cespedes is scheduled to work out for the Detroit Tigers today. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has already met with Cespedes’ representative Adam Katz last week during the GM Meetings. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has had a scout following Cespedes. The Red Sox, Cubs and Marlins have also been very engaged and are very interested in the powerful centerfielder.
Some of you may have already seen the well produced Yoennis Cespedes’ promotional video by now, but if you haven’t it’s definitely worth a look – although I warn you it’s 20 minutes long.
Since defecting from Cuba, Cespedes is still in the process of gaining residency in the Dominican Republic, and he is not yet eligible to become a free agent until all the paperwork is finalized. According to some reports, that could happen in the next two weeks.
There are some lingering concerns about his age which is listed as 26 years old, but as the new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington recently said, “while his age may be in question, his talent is not.”
In addition to his incredible power and hitting prowess, Cespedes is considered to be a strong defender in center field, his primary position, but he is open to playing one of the corner spots in the major leagues and has the 30+ home run power you would crave from a corner outfielder.
Here are his stats for the last four seasons:
- 07-08 – 366 AB – 82 R – 104 H – 26 HR – 50/32 K/BB – .284 AVG
- 08-09 – 328 AB – 83 R – 106 H – 24 HR – 40/43 K/BB – .323 AVG
- 09-10 – 342 AB – 87 R – 118 H – 22 HR – 50/42 K/BB – .345 AVG
- 10-11 – 354 AB – 89 R – 118 H – 33 HR – 40/49 K/BB – .333 AVG
Cespedes was by far the best offensive Cuban player before defecting. This past season he led the league in home runs, RBI and slugging. What really stands out is his incredible strikeout to walk ratio which shows how disciplined he is at the plate and would translate well and make things easier on his transition to the major leagues.
According to Peter Gammons, Cespedes reportedly expects contract offers somewhere in the range of what Aroldis Chapman signed last winter with the Reds – a six-year, $30.25 million deal.
I haven’t read anything concrete about the Mets’ interest in Cespedes aside from one report that they had a scout attend a workout in the D.R. where over 30 scouts were in attendance. There has not been any buzz from the Mets which I find odd for a front office that says they are fixated on building a new future with a new core of young players and have a $110 million dollar payroll.
You would think there would be more interest in a talent of this caliber when your options at center field are Angel Pagan and Mike Baxter. Is $5-6 million dollars annually too rich for the Mets taste? I did warn you not to put too much credence in that $110 million dollar payroll figure and to look for something closer to $90 million in 2012 and $80 million in 2013.
But getting back to this kid, from everything I’ve read and heard about Cespedes, whoever does get him will have themselves one heck of a ballplayer and a probable all star for years to come.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 41 | 28 | .594 | - |
| Nationals | 34 | 34 | .500 | 6.5 |
| Phillies | 33 | 37 | .471 | 8.5 |
| Mets | 25 | 39 | .391 | 13.5 |
| Marlins | 21 | 47 | .309 | 19.5 |
Last updated: 06/16/2013
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This FO is not interested in getting players unless it is in the form of Minor leaguers or Draft Picks.
They are going to wait until all the other teams have taken all the free agents they want and then lowball the crap that is left to low money 1 year contracts so he can continue treading water and biding time until the groundswell of abuse over losing Reyes clears and they move onto shipping Wright off.
We will not be having any meaningfull offseasons until Santana and Bay’s contract are up or tradeable.
SO we won’t actually even START rebuilding until 2015, add 4-5 years for that to work out and we are a non factor in the MLB until 2019 or 2020! And that assumes they actually make a few good picks along the way!
He will be either a Yankee, Red Sox or a Philly.
He’s pretty much a perfect fit for this team. Even if he’s paid 40 Mil for 6 years, that’s about 7 mil a year. Even taking the whole “not signing Reyes” thing, he’s superbly better than Pagan and about 2 million more. How is that not an automatic thing? Trade Pagan for a BP arm, a batting glove and some saddle soap and put this guy in CF!
Agree, NJstuck! I unstuck myself in TX and moved to NY!
Also: BOYCOTT the Wilponian Mets!
Trying to figure out how to Unstuck myself as well. The whole cheap housing and bustling local economy thing keep getting in the way…
Attendance is going DOWN more next year! BOYCOTT!
hey steve s., well said,.. i’ll say it again !! BOYCOTT !!!!! lets hear some more out there from those who really care about the mets tradition. we have almost always been underdogs, but even underdogs are out there trying to win. the coupons are not even interested in faking it. the current players know it and by now the prospects should be able to read the writing on the wall and know that once they succeed, management will do nothing to keep them in new york. nothing to look forward to at all until the coupons sell.
I guess by “coupons” you mean Wilpons, the owners of the club that had no problem dropping $140 million on payroll until very recently.
yes i do refer to the mets owners as the coupons. they were foolish with their money and trusted in uncle bernie to make them money with no qualms about how he was going to get it done. that is why they are in such bad shape now. as far as the $140 mil, they have already trimmed it by $30 mil and seem to be trying to get it under $100 mil. speculation on mmo and among mlb.com fans as well as some writers is that they are shooting for as low as $80 mil. now it would be pretty appealing for prospective owners looking to buy a big market team with a really low overhead,.. i think that is what the coupons are planning. it’s the only thing that could be accomplished by their actions and inactions over the last year.
Of course Fred Coupons spent that much money(140mil)….because it wasnt their money to spend in the 1st place…..Team Madoff!!! saw to that…
The whole time Wilpon shared ownership with Doubleday he was the biggest cheapskate…almost prevented the Piazza trade but Doubleday staepped up….now all of a sudden he starts spending money and builds a new stadium???
You dont lose your cheapness over night…its called spending money thats not yours now that scumbag is paying for it…unfortunately so are Mets fans
There area few important questions about Cespedes that I’ve heard from mroe than just the Mets people:
1) The aforementioned age.
2) His swing. He pulls back and then swings, which is part of why his bat isn’t highly regarded. Fixing it (if it can be fixed) will probably hurt his power. The question is how much.
3) Acclimation. He is not going to be on anyone’s Opening Day roster, or shouldn’t at least. He’s going to need time to adjust to his new lifestyle as well as his new league. Most IFAs do that in the minors. There is actually a league wide program to do just that.
4) Desire. The reason his video was so long and featured so much of him working out and focused on his core strength is because he was noticeably out of shape towards the end of his time in Cuba. People are concerned with how good his focus will be once he gets here.
5) Those workouts. The circumstances of his turn around are a little suspicious. He may have been…supplementing his work outs.
Supplementing his workouts in what way? Roids?
Always an excuse not to try to get a guy. Oh well, I guess some people just thrive with mediocrity and that’s why attendance at the park will never fall to zero. But if you are going to “hint” that a guy is on roids you should give your real name so you can be sued for libel.
Why is it that the Mets are the only ones making excuses? How come whenever another team expresses concerns, they don’t get called out?
29 teams are not going to sign him. Are you going to claim all of them are trying not to get guys?
The Nationals are starting to scare me, and Harper isn’t even up yet.
Yeah, you’re not the only one. I think their pitching scares the hell out of me once Strasburg is back to full health.