Cespedes to the A's

would he count as a prospect?

and would he be an A prospect or a B+?

Snoochies

by guessatomo on Feb 13, 2026 3:02 PM EST reply actions

at a strong B+ to lower A-. But he could end up being much more than that. At 26 I don’t think he really should be considered a “prospect,” just like I don’t think Darvish should be(both age and professional experience)

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:07 PM EST up reply actions

i agree about the age and professional experience thing

however, if jermaine mitchell is still considered a prospect (at 27 years old) i think cespedes should be too

Snoochies

by guessatomo on Feb 13, 2026 3:11 PM EST up reply actions

mitchell is considered a prospect?

i know he’s still in the minors, but at 27 and still not cracking the organization top 20, I don’t really consider that much of a prospect

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

i don’t personally consider him one, but he’s still apparently a “c” prospect in john’s book, and he’s 16 or 17 on mayo’s top 20

Snoochies

by guessatomo on Feb 13, 2026 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

He made BA's Athletics' top 10.

so…yeah.

by PissedMick on Feb 14, 2026 11:23 AM EST up reply actions

really bad move

I don’t know what they were thinking. for one, they overpaid BIG TIME. There is no way Cespedes was worth that much more than Vizcaino. Second, they shelled out that kind of money when they are looking at third place for the next 3-4 years, at least. They may stand a better shot after that, once Cole and Peacock make it up and have established themselves, but they are still a good 2-3 quality bats from competing even then. They don’t have the money to sign those other big bats, and by then Cespedes may(and probably will be) gone. By then, Cespedes will have either flaked out, or blossomed and a bigger market team will scoop him up for a price the A’s can’t afford. I don’t get this one from BB. It is a bit of a head scratcher for me

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:05 PM EST reply actions

I kind of like it

Oakland needs talent one way or the other & badly so as far as position players go. Obviously there’s something of an OF logjam, but it should straighten itself out.

by Matt0330 on Feb 13, 2026 3:18 PM EST up reply actions

Oakland needs bats desperatley.

36 Mil isnt that much. Beane just signed on till 2019… Now they spending some money on a potential stud bat is just what they need.

All of this points to a new Stadium soon as well.

In 2-3 years Oaklands rotation could be Anderson/Parker/Cole/Grey/Peacock. Anchored by Cespedis/Choice middle of the order.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 3:21 PM EST up reply actions

i agree

even if you are just looking at 2013

you’re going to have a rotation of Anderson/Parker/Grey/Peacock at least, which looks promising

then you’ve got a bunch of very useful pieces on offense. in the infield, you’ll have Weeks, Sizemore, Pennington, Suzuki. you can even flip Suzuki if you want, and plug in Derek Norris. all those guys look like 2 WAR type league average players. then in the outfield, you’ll have Cespedes, Crisp, and possibly Choice, if not, then Reddick.

the problem is still you need to figure out your 1B and DH holes, but you can use your entire 2012 season to figure out which one of your pieces (Brandon Allen, Daric Barton, Chris Carter, etc.) can fit at 1B/DH, and also devote your entire 2012 offseason to go and acquire a 1B/DH. since they are getting a new stadium, they can probably leverage that and borrow against their stadium or something.

overall, i think the A’s can look forward to their future.

by blue bulldog on Feb 13, 2026 3:45 PM EST up reply actions

the lineup you mentioned

is serviceable, but it won’t come close to getting them past the angels or rangers. both of those teams have batting lineups far, far superior to oakland’s, and both teams have rotations that can blow through the A’s mediocre lineup. with that rotation, you bet the a’s can look forward to their future, but unless they retain Cespedes past the 4 yr deal, it won’t come to fruition until he is gone. I think if Cespedes turns out to be good, the A’s won’t be able to afford to keep him

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:55 PM EST up reply actions

the thing is

they have no bad pieces, and really are just a star bat (5-6 WAR guy) away from being contenders imo

maybe they get lucky, and Cespedes or Choice turns into that guy. even if they don’t get lucky though, they’ll have the financial ability (through getting a new stadium and leveraging it) to go out and buy a star bat.

by blue bulldog on Feb 13, 2026 6:04 PM EST up reply actions

they be the middle of the order

but there won’t be much bookending it. Even with that rotation, they won’t have the offense to compete with LA or Tex, not unless they spend more money, which as far as I know, they do not have. So ya, in my opinion, a 4 yr 36 mil contract is a lot of money “when it likely still won’t give them a shot at a playoff spot”. simply looking at the dollar amount, no it isn’t a ton of money

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:46 PM EST up reply actions

"Even with that rotation, they won’t have the offense to compete with LA or Tex,"

Weeks/Choice/Cespdis/Green/Carter/Allen/Taylor Thats not to shabby. Only need a few of them to pan out to be competative with the projected rotation.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

taylor

doesn’t have a spot with oakland anymore officially

a’s outfield looks like 3 of reddick/crisp/smith/cespedes/gomes/cowgill

Snoochies

by guessatomo on Feb 13, 2026 4:07 PM EST up reply actions

Who evers producing will play...

If Taylor goes out there has a great spring but does make the club, then goes down to AAA and hits well he would get a call up if one of more of the OFer such as Smith/Reddick/Gomes is strugeling. Also Cowgill prob wont make the club outta spring either.

As of now I see the OF has Smith/Crisp/Cespedis with Reddick and Gomes on the bench.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

you need a lot more than that

to leapfrog both the angels and a’s. do me a favor, pick any of those guys that you consider to be favorites. insert them into the a’s lineup where you think they wuld be best utilized, then old the lineup cards next to LA and Tex, and tell me if they even shot. Now, look at the rotations of both teams, and then tell me if you think they got a shot then.

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:12 PM EST up reply actions

their lineup

will get them past seattle and houston, but no further. who else do they add at this point? soler? by the time he’s ready, Cespedes will be gone. The pieces aren’t available for them to add, unless you trade off the prized pitching prospects, wich I personally wouldn’t do

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

Sorry I forgot. You can predict the future and are all knowing.

No point in arguing with you. You are obv Bias.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

no, i cannot predict the future

but i can tell you right now the a’s, even with cespedes and once cole gets ready, will not have the lineup to compete, UNLESS they sign more quality hitters. and to my knowledge(which is limited- i don’t work for them), they don’t have the money to do it. As for me being bias, of course I am biased towards texas, but I also think if somehow Texas falls off the cliff, they have no shot against LAA either. Please tell me how bias explains that.

look, i think this would be a great signing if they had the means to add the other hitters they need to compete. i do worry about his ability to make contact, but i like cespedes despite it. i just dont get making a move like this when it still will not give them a realistic chance. in the AL West, you are going to have to win the division to make playoffs. With the east, you got the yankees, red sox, rays, and the emerging blue jays. the wild card will almost certainly come from that division. the one thing that could change that is adding houston to the al west. that does give the other west teams a chance to rack up more wins. i give oakland about a 5% chance they can leapfrog both LAA and Tex during Cespedes’ contract.

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

They dont need to "Sign" good hitters.

They most likely cant afford it without a new ball park. However They have Choice and Cespedis now. This years high draft pick will most likely be a hitter. So they can develop threw the draft. As well as make a trade or two for good young bats.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:39 PM EST up reply actions

you dont want them to trade

because that trade will most likely come if the form of breaking apart their rotation. that is pretty much what they would have to do to get the hitters they need, if you take signing away free agents out of the equation. the draft will help, but how quick?

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:42 PM EST up reply actions

look

we are al biased towards our favorite teams. yours is clearly towards oakland. if i were an a’s fan, i would be excited about it, and you should be too, but i think you may be expecting a better result than you are going to get out of it, not because of anything that cespedes that can control. it wasnt too long ago i was in the same position with the rangers. imo, you’re living proof that cj wilson was dead wrong in his comments

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:38 PM EST up reply actions

As an A's fan, I don't see much downside

This money wasn’t getting allocated anywhere else so it isn’t like opportunity costs are much of an issue. Most fans were settled on having 3 years of a $40MM budget. Seeing that go up a bit is a pleasant surprise.

The only real downside is that the A’s won’t be bad enough to get a top draft pick. But I think if Cespedes does well, the deal will be a bargain and if he does poorly, then they are still in line for top draft picks.

Its hard to ignore the money but in this case, I think that is what we should do. It barely affects the A’s going forward.

by DrDoom on Feb 13, 2026 7:34 PM EST up reply actions

Also...

In 3 years Beltre/Hamilton/Cruz/Kinsler will all be on the wrong side of 30.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:06 PM EST up reply actions

so being on the wrong side of 30

means no longer any good? please, someone tell albert pujols this, it may help us next season

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:10 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah cause the guys I mentioned are in the same breathe as Pujols.

And hate to break it to you. Unless your Bonds you dont get better after turning 33 and up.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:12 PM EST up reply actions

those guys don't have to get better

they are already good. I don’t care if they improve one iota, they are still better than anybody oakland has in their lineup

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:14 PM EST up reply actions

The point is they ARENT going to get better.

They are likley to get worse!

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

seriously?

for one, by then the a’s will have all of one year left out of cespedes, and he will be 29, a whopping year away from your magic marker. and secondly, im getting the impression you think those guys are just gonna fall of the cliff or something. we have viable replacements for beltre(olt) and kinsler(profar if they move him over, and odor). outfield will be harder to replace, but by then we’ll know more about we got in guzman and mazara. that is the point of having a minor league system man. guys get older, and eventually need replacement. but 30 is not OLD, it is merely past prime. there is a difference between the two, and quite honestly that difference is determined by THE PLAYER. some guys last well past it, others do not. Of the ones you mentioned, I give Cruz the most shot at tanking by then. He is already an injury problem. Beltre and Kinsler both workout addicts, which gives them a better shot at lasting longer. It is far more outrageous for you to compare Cespedes to Hamilton than it is for me to mention Pujols.

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

"It is far more outrageous for you to compare Cespedes to Hamilton than it is for me to mention Pujols."

When did I do that?

Hate to break it to you but guys get worse as they leave their prime years.

Also its no all about lineup. Defense, Starting pitching, Bullpen all play factors. You cant just say “we have a good lineup, we will win!”

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

uhm ok

you do make an excellent point, one i agree with. BUUUUT, the angels and rangers both have two of the best defensive teams in baseball, and both have very good rotations in their own right. Both have solid bullpens as well. Both also play in better hitters parks(we can re evaluate that statement once oakland gets a new stadium). both teams outrank oakland in pretty much every aspect. now, once cole and peacock have actually established themselves, they may have a slight edge on both teams on the rotation, but unless major changes are made, that may be the only aspect where they are better, and it won’t be by much either

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

All Im trying to say is..

By the time this team comes together 3-4 years from now Tex and LAA will be Old teams. While Oakland will have a great young rotation and with a few breaks a pretty good offense as well.

And who know what the new Stadium does to the franchise. They could get the new ballpark and go all Miami Marlins on the league.

"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein

by Syphon on Feb 13, 2026 4:37 PM EST up reply actions

you are correct

that is a distinct possibility. for all i know the a’s have been playing the part of the rich person posing as a street begger, just like florida(miami) did. or, they could land a major tv contract. who knows. things could change quite a bit for both teams in that time frame

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:40 PM EST up reply actions

not to mention they'll all be free agents

aside from beltre

When we played softball, I’d steal second base, feel guilty and go back.
- Woody Allen

by rhymeswithelephant on Feb 13, 2026 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

I don't understand.

What do you want them to do give up? Quit signing any good players for the next 4 years? They have to spend money to keep the MLB happy. They are still running a business and look to pick up value where they can. I can’t understand your argument in the least. They found a good potentially great player at a very reasonable price. They can buy on potential and upside right now because of the situation, if they lose they don’t lose much, if they win maybe they contend earlier than expected. I promise any fan would love this deal for their own team.

Calling it a bad deal is just incorrect. I mean everyone is allowed an opinion but I see very little explanation as to how this can do anything but help the A’s.

by throttle mathius on Feb 15, 2026 10:46 AM EST up reply actions

All of this points to a new Stadium soon as well.

The proposed dimensions of Cisco Field are 310 to Right Field and 302 to Left. While it’s bigger than Oakland Coliseum in the alleys, down the line is much shorter (by about 30 feet each way). Cespedes could have a field day pulling the ball down the line IF they get the Stadium.

Beane’s no dummy. He knows what’s happening in that situation. Is this his way of telling everyone that the new stadium’s a go?

by JoelGuzman'sScout on Feb 14, 2026 3:18 AM EST up reply actions

at a minimum 3 out of 4 years of contract would be up...

he’s not paying a guy 36 million so he can possibly hit with shorter fences for one year

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Feb 15, 2026 12:31 AM EST up reply actions

who is vizcaino?

by NRC on Feb 13, 2026 3:26 PM EST up reply actions

sorry, meant Chapman

for some reason Arodyswas on my mind

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:42 PM EST up reply actions

Let me know when you find out

I haven’t a clue either.

by Matt0330 on Feb 13, 2026 3:43 PM EST up reply actions

uhhh...no they dont

they have him for 4 years and they contractually cannot offer him arbitration. so, unless they agree on an extension before the end of four years, he’s a FA after the 2015 season.

Fire Everyone

by billybeingbilly on Feb 15, 2026 12:32 AM EST up reply actions

do you have a link for that?

I don’t see anywhere that lists the A’s signed away Arb rights. I do see that the contract hasn’t really been finalized, just with “details to follow”.

by pedrophile on Feb 15, 2026 2:01 PM EST up reply actions

Its definitely just 4 years

Olney mentioned how it was precedent setting for a non-Japanese player just today in his blog (don’t have insider but that’s what MLBTR says in a summary) and KG talks about Cespedes agent wanting either an 8-10 year deal of a 4 year deal here.

by nixa37 on Feb 15, 2026 2:58 PM EST up reply actions

interesting, just read that part. I'm surprised Oakland would not only give

50% more than anyone else but also take two years less control. It might not be a bad contract but I don’t know why every time Beane does something different it always is lauded as being smart.

by pedrophile on Feb 15, 2026 3:19 PM EST up reply actions

There is obviously a decent amount of risk involved

But for a team that really needed to find a middle of the order hitter, taking a chance on a guy with Cespedes power potential (at a premium position no less) is worth the “relatively” small deal he got. The A’s don’t really have the means to pay big money on a long term deal like a big power bat usually necessitates. Why not roll the dice and hope you found that with Cespedes?

by nixa37 on Feb 15, 2026 3:32 PM EST up reply actions

Sounds like Yoennis will play a corner

With Crisp in CF. So he doesn’t have a premium position.

by cookiedabookie on Feb 15, 2026 3:55 PM EST up reply actions

He can handle a premium position though

And Crisp isn’t going to be around for four more years.

by nixa37 on Feb 15, 2026 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

doesnt seem to be a bad deal, it just seems like they were

bidding against themselves a little. They had the next highest offer beat by 50% and then also allowed Cespedes to bolt 2 years early. That is what fazes me.

by pedrophile on Feb 15, 2026 4:21 PM EST up reply actions

it's also because

when you pay for a guy like Cespedes in the free market, you tend to be forced to pay a premium because everyone knows about him, and there are many bidders (auction game theory - winner’s curse)

on face, $36 million for a four-year deal seems like you’re getting great value, and in fact, doesn’t seem like the A’s have paid a premium at all.

part of this is misleading though. because the A’s did pay a premium. except, they chose to pay a premium through diminishing years of control, as opposed to tacking on dollars to his AAV.

it’s pretty innovative if you ask me, and i think it’s something that the A’s need to do in order to compete in what is becoming a powerhouse division

by blue bulldog on Feb 15, 2026 3:54 PM EST up reply actions

but it seemed like they paid a premium both in $ and years of control

by pedrophile on Feb 15, 2026 4:22 PM EST up reply actions

the premium

the only offer we know about publicly is the Marlins offer for 6 years/$36 million

the fact that the Marlins offered that, would suggest they would have, at the very least, accepted a counteroffer from Yoennis’s camp of 6 years/$42 million (one million additional AAV). i can’t imagine the Marlins giving their best possible offer to Yoennis, because i can’t imagine the Marlins not thinking that the Yoennis camp would take any better offers back to the Marlins and hoping for a match

second, any non-Marlins team was going to have to pay a premium anyway, because of the Cuban community. so tack on another guesstimated one million AAV

basically, you’re looking at something like $48 million/6 years to get Cespedes for a non-Marlins team. and that’s somewhat corroborated with the hubbub that Cespedes would cost in the $40-50 million range.

if you think of it that way, it looks pretty good to me for the A’s

by blue bulldog on Feb 15, 2026 7:22 PM EST up reply actions

that and the fact the As had to pay a huge premium because they are the As

by pedrophile on Feb 16, 2026 12:35 AM EST up reply actions

that is further reason

why people are lauding this deal for the A’s

the fact that they always have to pay a huge premium because they are the A’s, and yet it’s still such a cheap deal

by blue bulldog on Feb 16, 2026 4:21 AM EST up reply actions

Could this be part of a bigger move?

Call me crazy, but I’m thinking Billy Beane tries to trade him for prospects so he’s not on the hook for the contract… I think the Marlins were so aggressive in their attempt to get him (they even admitted they were “aggressive to the point of stupidity” for him, that Beane may feel he can pry a big name prospect for him… maybe even Matt Dominguez.

Cespedes seems to be the kind of guy Beane would hate, what with the poor K/BB (small sample size) and their OF is already crowded, but the fact that they don’t seem to be considering his signing to have any impact on other signings (Ramirez/Gonzalez) makes me suspicious. Time will tell, but I’m calling it first.

The 2008 Rogelio Moret League Fantasy Baseball Champions!

by The Congo Hammer on Feb 13, 2026 3:24 PM EST reply actions

'(Billy) Beane may feel he can pry a big name prospect for (Yoenis Cespedes)… maybe even Matt Dominguez'

Is this serious?

by Matt0330 on Feb 13, 2026 3:42 PM EST up reply actions

I LOLed.

"I think what baseball projects, and what classical music needs, is the sense that one goes to a live event not to experience greatness, but to experience the possibility of greatness.... Not every game is great but what we go for is the chance that this particular game might be.' —David Lang

by King Richard on Feb 13, 2026 6:36 PM EST up reply actions

If I signed cespedes and I am BB

I would not trade him for matt dominguez. the A’s need offense. Dominguez will be below league average with the bat.

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 3:51 PM EST up reply actions

if anything

this means crisp and/or smith are on their way out, and taylor officially doesn’t have a spot with the a’s

Snoochies

by guessatomo on Feb 13, 2026 4:06 PM EST up reply actions

i do think it is a good point to bring up

it is possible beane signed cespedes with the intention of trading him within the next two years. if he pans out this year, he can trade him off for multiple pieces that would give them a shot at competing

by rangersfan24 on Feb 13, 2026 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

don't think you can trade a player

until 365.25 days after they sign a FA contract.

by JoelGuzman'sScout on Feb 14, 2026 3:19 AM EST up reply actions

i dont care how it is a analyzed...

The A’s signed a sought a free agent to a multi-year deal!!…End of story…It’s a WIN…..There will be a shirt jersey in the team store that has 4 years and 36 million reasons to purchase.

by JimBarnett2KevinGarnett on Feb 13, 2026 11:39 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

sought after

by JimBarnett2KevinGarnett on Feb 13, 2026 11:39 PM EST up reply actions

B+ / B guy for me

on my prospect list i have Cespedes in the high 70s’ - 80’s range behind Jorge Solar and about equal with Leoyns Martin.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/photo-logan-morrison-bryan-petersen-share-tub-drink-043548597.html

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Feb 14, 2026 5:20 AM EST reply actions

I think you're underselling him

Cespedes has great defense, even if not as good as Martin’s, but Martin has nowhere NEAR Cespedes’ power potential.

The 2008 Rogelio Moret League Fantasy Baseball Champions!

by The Congo Hammer on Feb 14, 2026 11:43 PM EST up reply actions

Love it

This is a huge upside signing. Granted, I don’t think it makes an ounce of sense for the A’s, considering how far they are from contention. However, you have to get winners from somewhere, and Beane has committed to rebuilding till he hits the jackpot again(a core like the early aughties A’s).

Cespedes definitely has the potential to be a big part of that, provided his age is reasonably accurate (the 26-27 range.) His tools are certainly top shelf, and he’s performed in every setting he’s faced. I’d give him a B to be safe, but only because I want to see how he fares against US pitching and the cultural adjustment.

The A’s are going to suck next season, and this gives them an attraction. If Cespedes lives up to his billing, then he’s young enough to still be a star when the A’s are competitive again, in 2014-15 or so.

by GuyinNY on Feb 14, 2026 1:43 PM EST reply actions