Yoenis Cespedes: Bold Predictions for Cespedes' First Season with Oakland A's

The Oakland Athletics did with Yoenis Cespedes what the Los Angeles Angels did with Albert Pujols and the Detroit Tigers did with Prince Fielder. They swooped in out of left field and stole him.

As it was first reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the A's signed Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $36 million on Monday. It's not the kind of deal any of us expect Billy Beane to make given his track record, and it goes without saying that he's rolling the dice in a big way.

But what the heck? As Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports argued, the A's are in a position these days where they kinda have to take chances. If Cespedes becomes a star, the A's will reap the benefits. If he busts, the franchise will not be sent back to the stone age. Indeed, the A's are already there.

It's anybody's guess how Cespedes is going to fare in 2012. We know he's ultra-talented, but we don't know if he's ready to become a star. When it comes to Cespedes, much remains to be seen.

I do, however, have a few bold predictions that I'd like to share.

Cespedes Will Break Camp with the Big League Club...in Right Field

There is some debate over whether Cespedes should break camp with the big league club, but I don't see why he wouldn't. Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's are going to pay Cespedes $6.5 million in 2012. For this franchise, that's a ton of money. 

Since the A's are paying Cespedes big league money, he'll be with the big league team when it breaks camp. There's no reason for the A's to leave him behind. They have nothing to lose by featuring him right out of the gates, and they have everything to gain.

Now, Slusser thinks Cespedes will be installed in center field, with Coco Crisp moving over to left field. Since Cespedes is a center fielder by trade, that's a reasonable expectation.

But Cespedes looks more like a right fielder to me. He moves well enough to play center, but he's carrying far more weight than your garden-variety center fielder. That's a wear-and-tear risk the A's want to avoid. The gun he has for an arm is another thing that makes him a fit in right.

Moreover, I'm not sold on Josh Reddick as the answer to the team's prayers in right field. He's an intriguing player and a pretty decent fielder, but Reddick is nothing special. He's better off being a fourth outfielder coming off the bench.

Besides, keeping Crisp in center means keeping Seth Smith penciled in in left field. The more at-bats he gets, the better.

Mendoza Line Flirtation

Cespedes is not lacking in ability, but he's facing a pretty tough transition in 2012. Having to face major league pitching on a daily basis is going to humble him in a big way.

Cespedes might be a .300 hitter at some point down the line, but not right away. He's going to struggle to make contact consistently, and his batting average will suffer as a result.

In all likelihood, we're looking at a very slow start for Cespedes. He's going to be flirting with the Mendoza line at the start of the season, and it's going to be very ugly to behold.

Before long, the A's are going to have to make a tough decision, which brings me to my next bold prediction.

Demotion on the Horizon

The A's have every excuse to play Cespedes right away, but they must not rule out sending Cespedes down if he struggles to adapt to the big leagues.

If Cespedes is flirting with the Mendoza line, that will be the team's cue to send him down. They'll still be paying him a lot of money, but it will be clear that Cespedes could benefit from a stint in the minors.

It wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. Cespedes will be sent down to work on making contact on a consistent basis, which, in turn, will allow him to build some confidence.

It won't be a long stint. A week. Maybe two weeks. As soon as Cespedes starts to look more comfortable, he'll be back with the big club, and he'll be there to stay.

Cespedes Will End the Season with Exactly 25 Home Runs

Though Cespedes needs a lot of seasoning before he can turn into a consistent hitter, we know for a fact that the power is there. Cespedes can crush the ball, and he can crush it out to any part of the ballpark.

So, not unlike Dan Uggla in 2011, Cespedes is going to hit the ball hard when he actually manages to make contact. The home runs are going to come.

Cespedes has the ability to be a 35-40 home run guy or better, but a realistic expectation for his first season is somewhere around 25 home runs. I'll go out on a limb and predict that he's going to hit exactly 25 home runs.

For year one of a four-year deal, the A's will gladly take that.