Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Nearly every team has one player that is capable of taking their game to another level at crunch time. This is the player that other teams vow not to allow to beat them and yet it sometimes happens anyway. For the Oakland Athletics this player is Yoenis Cespedes. It showed during the ALDS when he hit a two-run home run off of a nasty Max Scherzer. This guy is the guy for the A’s and everyone knows it. So why would they really think of trading him?
Honestly I can understand a thought or two behind the trade idea. First of all he is a superstar caliber player potentially even after only two seasons in Major League Baseball. That means that he is getting a lot of attention and already headed towards making more money than a lot of the Athletics players. Obviously this means that other teams could be very interested in a trade for him but the Athletics still have a ton of time left as far as contract control. He’s still pre-arbitration years at this point.
Still, there is one thing that could make me think trade if I were Billy Beane. Cespedes is only coming off of his second season but he is already 28 years old. That is far from old of course but it means he could be reaching his prime years right now. If the Athletics keep him as long as they have contract control, he might be worth less on the trade market because of being over the age of 30.
Even considering this, he should at least be kept one more season. The Athletics are still going to be as good next year as they were this year and there is a great chance they could get to the postseason once again. At that point anything could happen, especially with Cespedes on the team. After that he would still be younger than 30 and worth a ton on the trade market as long as his numbers stay where they have been.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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