It appears that the Red Sox have tired of Yoenis Cespedes’ act after just two months.
According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the hometown team may look to shop the right-handed hitting outfielder this offseason. He reports that Cespedes’ apparent refusal to switch positions, and ambiguous verbiage about signing an extension with the club have precipitated this possibility. Cespedes, 29, has one year and $10.2 million remaining on his deal.
The Red Sox acquired Cespedes from the A’s in exchange for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes at the trade deadline. General Manager Ben Cherington said the team aims to compete in April 2015, and opting to land Cespedes instead of minor leaguers seemed to be an indication of that.
Power is the rarest commodity in today’s game, as the average amount of runs scored per contest this year was at its lowest mark since 1981. Though Cespedes lacks plate discipline (career .316 on-base percentage), he’s slugged 71 home runs in three Major League seasons.
The Red Sox seemingly decided prior to the start of the season that they didn’t want to seriously engage Lester in contract negotiations. Once it became apparent that they weren’t going to re-sign him, the decision to deal him at the deadline was the right move.
Most of the trade’s approval was predicated on the notion that Cespedes would be around for 2015, and potentially beyond. The Red Sox lacked power hitting outfield bats, and he appeared to fill a pressing need.
But the team’s alleged interest in shopping him this winter indicates a troubling lack of preparation on behalf of the baseball operations department. Lester was the Red Sox’s biggest chip at the deadline, and they may have dealt him away for a two-month rental who helped the club finish out a 91-loss season.
It’s possible that Cespedes could be part of a larger package that would draw an upper-echelon starting pitcher to Boston. But it’s a bit naive to say the Red Sox purposely acquired Cespedes only to trade him a couple of months later.
More realistically, the Red Sox no longer believe he’s a fit for their club in 2015. If the organization has soured on him so quickly, it’s a worrisome start to the winter’s retooling effort.
