Should the New York Yankees Pursue Yoenis Cespedes?

The biggest news to come out of New York during the MLB Trade Deadline wasn’t out of the Bronx. Instead, it was out of Queens, when the New York Metropolitans reached a deadline deal to acquire Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor leaguers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa.

It was a deal that proved to be very succesful, as the power bat of Yoenis Cespedes was key to the New York Mets run to the World Series.

However, Yoenis Cespedes’ time in orange and blue seems to be officially over, as Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that it’s very unlikely the Mets re-sign him in the off-season;

But, with MLB Free-Agency set to kick off at 12:00 midnight EST tonight, the question now becomes whether or not Yoenis Cespedes will remain in New York and don pinstripes in the 2016 season as a meber of the New York Yankees.

I, for one, think Brian Cashman woulds be wise to pursure the 30-year old outfielder in free agency.

For starters, Cespedes is the right-handed power hitter the Yankees lineup so desperately needs. In four MLB seasons spent predominantly in the American League outside of his three months with the New York Mets, Cespedes has slashed .271/.319/.486 with an .805 OPS. According to Baseball Reference, the Cuban slugger is projected to slash .265/.309/.480 with 26 home runs and 88 RBI. On the defensive side of the ball, Cespedes would add a cannon of an arm to an outfield that doesnt really have one (the Yankees ranked 20th in assists in 2015).

As Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York pointed out in his latest rendition of Spend Hal’s Money, Yoenis Cespedes can be a difference maker, and we certainly saw this when he nearly single-handedly transformed the Mets from a team on the rise to National League Pennant Winners, as he smoked 17 home runs in 230 at-bats with the Mets. Stick that bat in front of a healthy Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez and there’s no pitching around Yoenis Cespedes in Yankee Stadium.

The only thing that worries me about Yoenis Cespedes is his lack of production in October. His playoff numbers have steadily declined since his playoff debut in 2012 with the Oakland Athletics, and he was virtually non-existent this past World Series with the New York Mets, as he batted just .150 with 1 RBI and O homers in all five games against Kansas City.

Matthew’s also pointed out that Cespedes’ preference is to play center field, but he’s blocked from doing that for the Yankees unless Brian Cashman can pull off the impossible and trade Jacoby Ellsbury. As it stands now, the only position open for Cespedes on paper is a platton in right field, a position the Cuban slugger has yet to play in his major leaguer career. But if the Yankees trade Brett Gardner (which many insiders are predicting), they can slot Cespedes into left field.

Also, there’s always the fear that Cespedes will turn into the next Curtis Granderson for the New York Yankees. The Cuban slugger strikes out a lot, and he had a career high 141 strikeouts in 2015.

Still, I think the pro’s outweight the con’s, and if it were up to me I would pursure Yoenis Cespedes this winter.

What do you think Yankee fans? Let us know in the comment’s below!

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