Yoenis Cespedes: Breaking Down What Cuban Star Brings to Oakland Athletics

That's funny, I was under the impression the Oakland Athletics had neither the cash nor the motivation to sign a big-name slugger with a bright future.

The A's proved me wrong by agreeing to terms with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on Monday. The deal, which was first reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, is for four years and $36 million. It is believed the A's outbid the Miami Marlins for Cespedes' services.

You have to hand it to the A's for making this signing. By trading away Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey this offseason, the consensus among baseball fans (and more than a few pundits) was that the A's were surrendering the 2012 season before it even began. Now that they've broken the bank for Cespedes, things look a little different.

I won't bother offering a scouting report breaking down exactly what Cespedes can do in all phases of the game. If you want one of those, you can read the scouting report I wrote last week.

I do, however, want to discuss what Cespedes brings to the table for the A's. Let's break it down.

A hitting presence

The biggest shortcoming facing the A's last season was a lack of power, as they hit just 114 home runs all season. They didn't do much to change things this offseason.

That is, until they signed Cespedes on Monday. Cespedes is a guy who can do many things, but the one thing people rave about is his ability to hit a baseball a country mile.

Cespedes is as strong as a bull, and he can drive the ball out of the yard to left, center and right. Hitting from the right side of the plate, he's got a swing that's part Sammy Sosa, part Gary Sheffield. It's a swing that is both violent and controlled, and the ball jumps off his bat when he makes contact.

We tend to use this kind of language when talking about prospects, but to call Cespedes a prospect would be doing him a disservice. He will have to get used to major league pitching, but this is a guy with several seasons of Cuban professional baseball under his belt. He also played in the World Baseball Classic, and performed very well.

If Cespedes holds his own in spring training, he should break camp as a starter, and Bob Melvin would have every excuse to put him in the middle of the order.

What the heck, right? It's not as if the middle of the A's lineup is clogged with stud hitters. May as well put a high-ceiling guy like Cespedes right in the thick of things.

Freakish athleticism

Had Cespedes grown up in the states, he probably would be playing in the NFL as a running back right now. The dude is big, and the dude is fast.

Cespedes' straight-line speed will come in handy on the bases if the A's feel like incorporating more small-ball tactics into their offensive philosophy. The teachings of Moneyball tell us that this is out of the question, but let's not forget that Coco Crisp stole 49 bases and Jemile Weeks stole 22 bases in 2011.

Cespedes' speed won't just come in handy on the basepaths, though. He's a center fielder by trade, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks he will push Crisp over to left field.

That's not a bad thing. Crisp has speed to spare, but his UZR in 2011 was an uninspiring minus-5.5. He'll be able to do less damage in left.

If Cespedes struggles in center, he could always move to right or left. I could personally see him in right field, as he has a cannon for an arm.

A gift for the fans

I need to ask you a question, and I need you to give me an honest answer.

Did you have any desire to go watch the A's before they agreed to terms with Cespedes?

I didn't think so. Oakland's roster was totally devoid of stars, and the team itself didn't look like it was cut out for glory.

I still don't think the A's are going to be anything special this season, but Cespedes is a guy who's worth coming out to the ballpark for. As far as the A's are concerned, Cespedes may as well be Prince Fielder, and he may actually outperform Fielder a year or two down the line.

For now, it will be enough for A's fans to sit in the stands waiting for Cespedes to blast one a mile or run one down in center. His heroics may not translate into wins, but at least he'll provide some fun.

And since the A's are trying to seal a deal for a new ballpark, you better believe that fun matters.

A tradeable contract

I'll say right off the bat that I'm not trying to start any rumors. I highly doubt the A's signed Cespedes just to use him as trade bait.

But it could come to that. Probably not in year one, two or three, but let's imagine the A's are out of it in year four and there's still no deal on the table for a new ballpark.

In that case, they'll be stuck with an ultra-talented outfielder who's due to hit free agency at the tender young age of 30. In essence, they'll be stuck with a player they can't hope to retain.

Per Slusser, Cespedes will be making $10.5 million in year three and year four. That's not an untradeable salary. Case in point, Matt Holliday was being paid more than $13 million when the A's traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009.

So if the A's need to trade Cespedes for prospects down the line, they'll be able to. That's not a scenario the A's or their fans want to deal with right now, but it could come to that.

Bottom line

You have to like this signing. It gives the A's a player with star potential, and they're getting him at a pretty reasonable price given what Cespedes brings to the table. 

Cespedes will need some time to come into his own, and his coming probably won't mean a playoff berth in 2012. But going forward, the A's have a player they can grow around, not to mention one they can market.

In short, Cespedes is just what the A's needed.