MLB Free Agents Rumors: Los Angeles Angels Won't Sign Yoenis Cespedes; Royals at Odds With Alex Gordon
It's been a crazy and wild offseason since the Kansas City Royals won the World Series. Many high profile names have found new homes. Elite players such as Zack Greinke, Jason Heyward and Johnny Cueto are on different teams heading into 2016.
But we still have a lot of other notable players who are unrestricted free agents. Yoenis Cespedes is arguably the highest profile name still on the market.
The 30-year-old Cuban-born outfielder had himself quite a 2015 campaign. After being traded from the Detroit Tigers midway through the season to the New York Mets, the landscape changed dramatically in the National League. Cespedes was actually in the MVP running with Bryce Harper down the stretch because of the incredible impact he had on the Mets offense. Thanks to Cespedes, and an elite pitching staff, the Mets went on to win the National League Pennant last season.
According to the latest reports, the Los Angeles Angels will not be targeting Yoenis Cespedes this offseason. Angels owner Arte Moreno said the Angels will "probably be out" when it comes to signing Cespedes, Alex Gordon or even Justin Upton. The Angels have invested a lot of money in their offense, but they have missed the playoffs five of the last six years. Albert Pujols is one of the greatest Dominican baseball players of all-time, but he isn't getting any younger.
As dominant of a season as Mike Trout had last year, the Angels offense only ranked 20th overall in runs scored. Maybe adding a veteran hitter like Cespedes would be wise. The bigger issue with adding Cespedes isn't so much hitting and plate performance, it's where to use him on defense. The Angels don't have out-fielding issues. Perhaps the better free agent signing by the Angels would be Daniel Murphy, who also played for the Mets. Murphy is a streaky hitter who had one of the best home run hitting postseasons ever last year, but we all know that he is limited. Murphy has never hit more than 14 home runs in a season, but he would come a much cheaper price than Cespedes.
Owner Arte Moreno said #Angels did not make offer to Heyward and are not in serious talks with Cespedes, Upton, Gordon, Davis.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) December 17, 2015
This could actually work out really good for the Mets. Most MLB insiders believe the Mets will not re-sign Cespedes, but if his value continues to decrease, the Mets could really get a steal. Cespedes isn't the most consistent player, but we know what a profound impact he had on the Mets last year.
As for Gordon, the Royals are still negotiating with him. Many fans are getting fed up with the fact that their team hasn't re-signed Gordon. The latest reports show that the Royals are only offering Gordon a four year contract worth up to $13 million, which is pretty laughable for a player of his caliber. Gordon is a quality player who has spent his entire nine year career with the Royals. With Cueto now on the San Francisco Giants, the Royals should be able to easily afford Gordon.
Other notable free agents include Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen, Stephen Drew, Ian Desmond, Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum.
Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1
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