Cespedes, 28, is signed through 2015. He will be paid $10.5 million. Cespedes is currently hitting .256/.303/.464, with 17 home runs. He doesn't get on base as much as I'd like (.318 career), but he's got a strong arm and is a power bat in the outfield.
Lester, 30, is in the middle of what could be the finest season of his career: 2.52 ERA, 1.12 WHIP. His career ERA+ of 120 puts him alongside Iron Man Joe McGinnity, Rollie Fingers, and CC Sabathia, among others.
Alex Speier has a superb look back at Lester's Red Sox career and his growth and maturity as a pitcher. ... See also Matthew Kory (OTM): "Jon Lester, the end of the road, and asking why".
Damn, that A's rotation is in-sane.
ReplyDeleteSoSHer 5050HindSight:
ReplyDelete"The A's now have more Red Sox players than the Red Sox do."
Jeff Passan reports:
ReplyDelete"Final full trade: Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes and $ to Oakland for Yoenis Cespedes and the second pick in the competitive balance Comp B round."
Fangraphs, June 13: "Yoenis Cespedes’ Run-Saving Right Arm"
ReplyDeleteOnly two major leaguers with 12 outfield assists this season: Jackie Bradley Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes.
ReplyDeleteAcquiring Cespedes in exchange for Lester? I'd make that trade, too!
ReplyDeleteNow the question is whether he will hit behind Ortiz, moving Napoli to the fifth spot in the lineup. It would certain force the opposition to pitch to Ortiz as they did when he had Manny behind him.
Oh, and I believe the A's may have just locked up the AL pennant, if not the World Series, with this trade. They look unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the orgasming I'm seeing about this at SOSH. Is Cespedes going to be pitching? I know he's got a good arm and all, but...
ReplyDeleteI think it's also a mistake to view this as a steal simply because it was a "foregone conclusion" that Lester wouldn't be signing here. That's some circular logic right there. It was only a foregone conclusion because that was a conscious decision by the front office. It's not like it was some turn of fate and the organization's hands were tied preventing Lester from continuing to pitch here.
I also see plenty of SoSHers not going nuts. Poor OBP, FA after 2015, etc.
ReplyDeleteI really have to get away from the computer and stop hitting F5 on SoSH.
ReplyDeleteI declare myself now officially a member of the Oakland Athletics fan club....
ReplyDelete"The A's now have more Red Sox players than the Red Sox do."
ReplyDeleteTrue, thus joining the fan club!
Tom Caron:
ReplyDelete"Source w/ #RedSox told me team wanted to deal Lester to "team we didn't think could re-sign him." Said Sox will make offer this off-season."
SBNation: "Yoenis Cespedes trade is a punch in the stomach for A's fans"
ReplyDeleteYoenis Cespedes, fan favorite, derby slayer, inspirer of homemade signs, is on that team now, the one with the boisterous, obnoxious fans who scurry out from cracks in the sidewalk when they come into town. There's the business of what came back (rotation-leading ace, playoff tested, can match up with any pitcher in baseball), but until he makes a start or five, that's secondary. Until then, this trade is a week-long excuse to say, "They traded who?"
Tom Caron:
ReplyDelete"Source w/ #RedSox told me team wanted to deal Lester to "team we didn't think could re-sign him." Said Sox will make offer this off-season."
Sure, they're going to bid on him, but all the signs are against the bid being really competitive. (4/70, Henry's comments about long-term contracts for players over 30, the fact that MFY and possibly the Dodgers are going to be hot after him too...)
I think people are clinging to things like this, or theories about secret handshake deals, like little bits of flotsam after a shipwreck. I'd be astonished if Lester is back in 2015.
I really have to get away from the computer and stop hitting F5 on SoSH.
ReplyDeleteTrade deadline day. It's what you do.