Athletics Special - Oakland Athletics: Yoenis Cespedes – risk and reward
As news of the Oakland Athletics acquisition of the brilliant Cuban player Yoenis Cespedes with a four-year $36 million contract spread in the media, many experts were surprised by the move. Most believed that Yoenis was heading to the Miami Marlins, however
it looks like that is not going to happen.
The A’s have pulled off a brilliant move with their signing of the Cuban slugger. The team had a lukewarm 2011 regular season, finishing third in the American League West Division with a win-loss record of 74-88. The team struggled to get things going during
the regular season and seemingly lacked some solid team-work.
However, the A’s have really outdone themselves during the offseason as they have managed to sign Yoenis Cespedes to their roster for the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season. For the franchise, this is a risk that many feel is long overdue. The Athletics
have the second lowest payroll in MLB and signing Cespedes is a clever move by the franchise.
The team is looking for ways to improve their roster without the large amounts of money that some of the other top tier teams have at their disposal. Scouting and signing players like Cespedes is something the A’s are willing to risk for any type of success
during the upcoming regular season. One thing for sure is the tremendous amount of talent that Cespedes has. During the 2010-11 Cuban League, Yoenis had 33 home-runs (league record), 99 RBIs and maintained a .333 average.
Cespedes will be making an impact once Spring Training starts, as the now the Oakland Athletics are once again grabbing headlines and getting some media attention. The team has a done a great job to acquire the Cuban player. Teams like the Miami Marlins
had their heart set on signing Cespedes, unfortunately for them, he has gone to Oakland.
The A’s are obviously looking to build upon this move and create some winning momentum into the team. Sometimes all it takes for a team to start winning is a spark from a player that can rally the others to perform at a higher level. Whatever the case, the
fact that the A’s have signed Cespedes has shown the entire League that although they may be down; they are definitely not out of it.
What many are people are forgetting, is the fact that Oakland is also looking to sign star slugger Manny Ramirez if possible. The club is not concerned with the fact that Manny will have to serve a 50 game suspension before he can actually play. This shows
the commitment and faith that the A’s have in their acquisitions. They obviously believe in Manny Ramirez, regardless of his past issues. The team knows that bringing in a player that has hit 555 home-runs can only be a positive thing to lift the spirit of
the franchise.
Many experts feel that the combination of Ramirez with Cespedes can be quite devastating for many of the other teams in the League. Oakland seems to have pulled a rabbit out of their hats and is doing whatever they can for some success in the upcoming regular
season. It will be very exciting to see how Cespedes and quite possibly Manny Ramirez can lead the team to a winning position. The Athletics understand the risk of signing players like Cespedes, but without risk there can be no reward.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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