Free Agent Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes held a showcase in Florida that 11 teams attended on Tuesday, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The Yankees, White Sox, Brewers, Blue Jays, Tigers (one of Cespedes’ former teams), Padres, Rays, Reds, Marlins, Cubs and Braves were all present to watch Cespedes, by Davidoff.
As Davidoff notes, it is interesting that most of the clubs that exploited Cespedes are in the National League, which does not seem likely to have the designated hitter position in 2021. DH seems to be the logical place for Cespedes if he will continue his career, as it does has been playing since 2018, is getting older (35), and is leaving four seasons in a row shortened by health problems. The All-Star twice, most recently with the Mets, played in just 127 of the possible 546 regular season competitions in 2017-20.
Cespedes dropped out of last season in August because of concerns about COVID-19, but heel and ankle problems plagued him before that and helped make the $ 110 million four-year guarantee he received from Mets in November 2016 a disaster for the club. The two sides agreed to an amended contract in December 2019 that reduced Cespedes’ base salary from $ 29.5 million to $ 6 million, but New York has made no financial return from it.
Although Cespedes comes with question marks, he will not do an expensive deal, which is one of the reasons why so many clubs are considering him. When healthy, Cespedes has been a force on the board, where he hit 0.273 / 0.327 / 0.477 (124 wRC +) with 165 home runs on 3,490 trips. That track record could make it a low-cost pickup that’s worthwhile for someone.