Cespedes Signs with Athletics

[Giantmetfan07]

ESPN

Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has agreed to a four-year, $36 million deal with the Oakland Athletics, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney on Monday.

Cespedes established legal residency in the Dominican Republic last month after saying six other major league teams were interested in signing him.

But Major League Baseball has said Cespedes cannot finalize a contract until he obtains an unblocking license from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control because he is a Cuban national who has established residency in another country.

Cespedes met with the Miami Marlins and toured their new ballpark on Wednesday. The other teams Cespedes said he drew interest from were the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.

 

[cruzg24]

Cuban outfielder Yoenis Céspedes and the Oakland A's have agreed to terms on a free agent contract.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle teweeted that the deal is worth $36 million. for four years.

The Marlins, Tigers and Nationals were among other teams which had expressed interest in signing the international free agent.

Although recently linked to the pursuit of Manny Ramirez, the A's were considered long shots for Cespedes' services, having traded some of their best young players, including Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey, this offseason.

It's possible the A's will view Cespedes as a center piece for what they hope will be a new stadium in San Jose several years down the line.

Cespedes, 26, defected from Cubs last summer, establishing residence in the Dominican Republic.
Regarded as a quality hitting prospect with power, he batted .500 (11 for 22) with four homers (despite going hitless against the U.S.) at the World University Baseball Championship in 2010.

Multiple reports indicated Cespedes will be eligible for free agency at the expiration of his deal with Oakland.

Source: USA Today

 

[snipezo]

Dude got paid thanks to his showcase vid lol.

 

[RipCity32]

Dang, didn't even know they were talking.

 

[NV]

Didn't expect him to end up in Oakland. Interested to see what he'll do in the MLB.

 

[elcheato]

Smart, calculated risk by the A's. I like it.

 

[Mexi]

hopefully he sells tix

 

[bosoxlover12]

This contradicts Beanball immensly

$9M a year for someone who posted a .311 OBP last year (equiv to 118th in MLB for OBP)?
:comeon:

 

[elcheato]

The Athletics don't strictly go on OBP and that wasn't the philosophy. The Athletics imply it more because of budget restraints but if Cespedes plays to his potential, the 9 million is a bargain. That's the point. It's a smart risk by a small market club.