Boston Red Sox Should Consider Trading Yoenis Cespedes

By Drew Jenkins @DrewJenkins77 on October 21, 2014

At the 2014 trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox made a rare big leaguer for big leaguer trade when they acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jon Lester. Generally when moving a player of Lester’s caliber a team will look to acquire prospects, but this trade made sense because Cespedes had the potential to impact the Red Sox in 2015. That was the thinking at the time at least, but now they need to change their mentality and consider trading Cespedes this offseason.

Cespedes is a nice piece, but he’s nothing more than that. He took the league by storm in his rookie 2012 season, hitting .292/.356/.505 with a 126 wRC+. Since then, however, Cespedes has only been around a league-average hitter, slashing .251/.298/.446 over the past two seasons. Cespedes’ arm makes him a solid defender in left field, but he is not particularly rangy. Overall he is a nice, well-rounded player, but the hype from his rookie season has worn off and Cespedes has shown that he is a slightly above-average player, not a superstar.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have plenty of other talent in the outfield. Heralded Cuban signing Rusney Castillo figures to lock down center field. Mookie Betts is one of the game’s most promising young players. Allen Craig had a great 2013 before struggling in 2014. Jackie Bradley is not far removed from being one of baseball’s top outfield prospects. Shane Victorino is one year removed from a great season, and Daniel Nava is a decent piece. Cespedes can be fit into that picture, but doing so would mean the Red Sox would have to get more creative to get the likes of Betts and Bradley’s playing time.

Instead of having that crowded of an outfield picture, the Red Sox should just deal Cespedes. By doing so the team could acquire a player to fill a position of need, such as third base. Or they could acquire prospects, which they probably should have done for Lester in the first place. Being a year away from free agency, Cespedes is not going to bring a huge haul, but he is still desirable as a corner outfielder with some pop should have plenty of value in a trade.

In the end, it makes plenty of sense for the Red Sox to trade Cespedes. They have a great deal of depth in the outfield, and because of it they can afford to trade him to fill a need or bolster their farm system. Cespedes was meant to help the Red Sox win in 2015, but ultimately the Red Sox need to realize that trading him this offseason is the right choice.

Drew Jenkins is an MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DrewJenkins77, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.