New York Yankees Rumors: Yoenis Cespedes A Sleeper Option?
New York Yankees Rumors: Yoenis Cespedes’ agents contacted the Yankees about signing there; is there a chance that Cespedes will be in the Bronx in 2016? Don’t count on it.
New York Yankees have had a very quiet offseason by their standards. They have not been involved in any of the big free agent signings, barely even being whispered about in rumors when they were still available. They instead opted for the trade market to fill their holes. They acquired Aaron Hicks from the Minnesota Twins to help their outfield depth, while they added to an already strong back end of their bullpen by trading for Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds.
But, could the Yankees be getting involved in the free agent market? Yoenis Cespedes is arguably the biggest prize remaining on the free agent market for hitters with Chris Davis and Justin Upton signing this week for big contracts. Cespedes has not received any long-term contract offers yet reportedly, as his market has been slow to develop.
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Things have heated up recently though, as a number of teams have expressed interest in signing the Cuban outfielder. But, the unwillingness to offer a long-term contract has Cespedes deciding among plenty of options. The allure of New York is tugging on him though.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Cespedes is torn about the offers because he would like to stay with the Mets because of what New York brings to him. According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, a source close to the situation says, “He’s played in four cities now, and he’s told friends that he felt more at home in New York than anywhere else by far. It’s a great city for Latin guys. And he thinks of himself as being the best of the best, like he’s made for New York.”
This is where the Yankees come into play. In the same article by Harper, he also mentions that Cespedes desires to stay in New York burn so strong that his agents actually reached out to the Bronx Bombers.
"To that end, another source said that Cespedes’ agents, the Roc Nation group, reached out to the Yankees on Thursday to tell them of the slugger’s desire to stay in New York, and ask if they’d be willing to jump in with a three-year offer. All indications are that the Yankees have no such intentions, but the scenario itself is revealing and perhaps encouraging to the Mets."
It should come as no surprise that the Yankees do not have intentions to sign Cespedes at this time as they already have a logjam in their outfield. They have been rumored to be moving Brett Gardner for most of the offseason, so adding another outfielder to the mix with Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Hicks and Aaron Judge in the mix already would make little sense even if Cespedes is arguably a superior player to all the aforementioned players at this moment.
But, the fact that his agents reached out to them has two main takeaways; he is serious about wanting to play in New York, which bodes well for the Mets, and will take a discount to do so. A three-year deal is nothing to scoff at, but it is far off from the five or six year mega deal that Cespedes was looking to obtain when the offseason began.
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Despite not having draft pick compensation tied to him because of a clause in his contract, the market for Cespedes has been slow to develop. Things are beginning to pick up now, but it looks as if the Yankees will not be a part of those negotiations and Cespedes may have to settle for less if wishes to stay in New York.