Should Yoenis Cespedes Be on the Giants Radar?
By Jason Burke
Aug 15, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder
Yoenis Cespedes(52) prior to a game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
In an article on CBSSports.com on Sunday, Dayn Perry speculated that Red Sox outfielder, Yoenis Cespedes, could be on the market. Cespedes, 29, has played the majority of his career in left field. Fancy that, the exact position the San Francisco Giants are perpetually looking to fill.
Yes, the Giants have Mike Morse, and he has done a decent job, but Yoenis Cespedes is an upgrade over Morse, and they will likely make about the same amount next season. While that home run that Morse hit in game five was awesome, it also likely tacked on another million to his asking price.
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Comparing the two slugger’s seasons, we can see that Cespedes ranks higher in the power numbers, while also playing in more games (152). Cespedes totaled a .260 average with 22 home runs and 100 rbi, while also collecting 6 triples. Imagine the number of triples he could hit in a ballpark that has an alley named for them!
Morse on the other hand played in 131 games, hit .279, smashed 16 home runs and drove in 61. The other aspect of the comparison is the level of defensive play for both outfielders. Morse finished the regular season with a dWAR (defensive wins above replacement) of -1.9, while Cespedes tallied 0.7. The addition of Cespedes would be a +2.6 swing on defense, and nearly 40 more rbi at the dish.
Add in the playoff numbers of Yoenis Cespedes, and it is fairly easy to tell this guy likes the bright lights. In ten career postseason games, Cespedes is batting .350, with a home run, six rbi and two stolen bases.
The specifics on Cespedes may temper some of the excitement about a potential trade, being that “La Potencia” only has one year left on his current contract, and is owed $10.5M next season. The asking price for Cespedes’ services will likely be high. The Red Sox are likely looking for an Andrew Susac level talent, or a collection of talent that could project to equal a Susac.
For me, that asking price is too high. Susac is the future for the Giants behind home, whether that is next season with Buster Posey moving to a corner position, or a few seasons from now remains to be seen.
Hunter Strickland is another name that could be tossed around in potential trade discussions, because he projects well, and could be a team’s closer in the near future.
The Giants could also try and get tricky, and offer up Tim Lincecum and his $17.5M contract for 2015, but also sweeten the pot with other players, like Brandon Belt or Yumeiro Petit. This would get Timmy off the books, and allow the Giants to pursue other talents, and perhaps even establish some “Odd Year Magic”. The players that could be offered depend on Posey’s future to a large degree.
While trading for a player that could only be around for a year and would likely cost a fair amount to acquire may seem asinine, the Giants would also have a better shot at signing him to a longer deal if he were already on the team. Hunter Pence seemed to like it enough to want to stick around.