The Oakland A's shocked the baseball world on Monday by agreeing to a contract with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes that will pay him $36 million over four years. Considering all the money that he is going to make, there will be a lot of pressure on the team to start him right away. Unfortunately for the fans that are anxious to watch him play, that should not be the way that the A's handle Cespedes. As of right now, we don't know how the team plans to handle him coming into spring training because his contract can't be finalized until he takes ...
Yoenis Cespedes agreed to a four year deal to play for the Oakland Athletics, making the once destitute A's lineup look somewhat threatening again. General Manager Billy Beane swooped in at the eleventh hour to sign the Cuban star before he was to return to the Dominican Republic after the Miami Marlins offered their pitch. What was once a team that was projected to finish dead last in the AL West, no, make that Major League Baseball, has just possibly boosted their potential wins total by signing the slugger. No one expected the team, whose offseason philosophy looked like a fire ...
That's funny, I was under the impression the Oakland Athletics had neither the cash nor the motivation to sign a big-name slugger with a bright future.The A's proved me wrong by agreeing to terms with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on Monday. The deal, which was first reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, is for four years and $36 million. It is believed the A's outbid the Miami Marlins for Cespedes' services.You have to hand it to the A's for making this signing. By trading away Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey this offseason, the consensus among baseball fans (and more ...
The Oakland Athletics are led by a man who has become the face of Moneyball, the idea that winning baseball teams can be built by valuing baseball statistics like on-base percentage more rather than batting average and home runs.Billy Beane, the general manager in Oakland, has been known to build up the Athletics primarily through the farm system, then trade away for draft picks and rebuild once again.This year was no exception, as Oakland parted ways with its top two starting pitchers, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez, and closer Andrew Bailey.Oakland restocked with future prospects like pitcher Brad Peacock and catcher Derek Norris from Washington ...
In an astonishing and shrewd move, the Oakland Athletics snuck out of nowhere and snagged the coveted Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, signing him to a four-year, $36 million deal, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Interestingly, the 26-year-old center fielder was offered longer-term contracts (reportedly $40 million over six years by the Miami Marlins), but he actually wanted fewer years so as not to be locked into one place for too long. Good thing he selected Oakland. For one, he won’t be in the city of Oakland for very long, if the Athletics have their way—because the team won’t be ...
While all of the talk about Yoenis Cespedes had seemingly shifted toward the Miami Marlins, the Oakland Athletics were able to swoop in under the radar and sign the Cuban sensation.According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, Cespedes signed a four-year deal with the Athletics that is worth $36 million. He should be a key part of the Athletics outfield this season. There will be high expectations for Cespedes this season, and he may not be able to live up to them.Begin Slideshow
In a surprise turn of events, Yoenis Cespedes has signed a four-year, $36 million deal with the Oakland Athletics, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.That after the Marlins appeared to be the front runners following a Wednesday meeting and tour of their new stadium in his first meeting with any teams since gaining residency.This move likely caps a very active offseason for Oakland, as the team dealt starting pitchers Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Guillermo Moscoso, Josh Outman and closer Andrew Bailey in moves that have helped replenish a fairly thin farm system and also returned some young players who will contribute ...
The Oakland A’s are in a state of change. After multiple offseason trades that overhauled their roster, the A’s are staring directly at what looks to be a daunting 2012 season. The Rangers and Angels both made upgrades to their rosters, while by all accounts the A’s did not. However, this does not mean they cannot bounce back from a 74-88 2011 campaign. In fact, despite finishing 14 games under .500, in the second half of the last season they were 35-35. Maintaining that kind of record for the entire 2012 season is the goal. There is no disregarding the ...
Nobody saw this one coming.Yahoo! Sports's Tim Brown reported on Twitter that Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes has agreed to terms with the Oakland Athletics. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the terms of the contract on Twitter: four years, $36 million.In a stunning turn of events for a team that dealt off a large amount of MLB talent, including Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey, Billy Beane grabbed the Cuban home run champion for $8 million a year.This offseason has been a busy one for Beane with his outfielders, re-signing Coco Crisp, trading for Seth Smith and, ...
Billy Beane has made his first big move since signing a contract extension last week.As recently as Sunday night, MLB.com reported that the Miami Marlins were still the favorite to sign Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.On Monday, however, the Oakland Athletics swept in and signed the 26-year-old, according to Tim Brown.This is a surprising move considering Oakland does not look like a team that will be in serious contention this season.They traded their best pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, to the Washington Nationals in the offseason. They have a lot of flaws, so it seems odd that they decided to sign Cespedes. What makes the deal even ...