Houston Astros Trade Rumors: Yoenis Cespedes

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Houston Astros Trade Rumors: Yoenis Cespedes

Jul 28, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With only TWO days remaining before the July 31st MLB Trade Deadline, the Astros are still looking to make another move. While a bunch of moves has been done around the American League, the Astros still have yet to make their second deal, that most people assumed would take place after they acquired Scott Kazmir last Thursday.

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Although the Astros are reportedly pushing most of their chips in on Cole Hamels. They could also be pursuing a bat, someone who could add even more spark to an offense that scored ten runs last night in a win against the Angels. Hamels seems unlikely to approve a trade to the Astros despite Jeff Luhnow’s heavy push to the Phillies, so the Astros GM might have to explore other avenues.

Here’s Peter Gammons’ very confusing tweet from earlier this morning, where he made a crucial typo by leaving out the word WON’T in between “Hamels” and “go”. This actually helps the argument that those above the age of 60 probably shouldn’t use Twitter, but we’ll leave that debate for another day.

Astros owner Jim Crane has given the all-in for a big trade, but the feeling in the organization is that Cole Hamels go to Houston
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 29, 2015

Many outfielders have already been dealt so far, including Ben Zobrist, David DeJesus, Shane Victorino, and Mike Morse (traded to Dodges earlier today). But, the big names, like Cespedes, Upton, and Gomez, are still on the board. With that in mind, I’m going to look at the cases for and against acquiring Yoenis Cespedes.

Next: Trade For Cespedes

Trade For Cespedes

Jul 25, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) can

The Detroit Tigers continue to have the most interesting situation in baseball at the trade deadline. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has consistently denied the possibility of the Tigers selling at the deadline, but as time passes, it looks more and more apparent to the rest of western civilization that the Tigers are falling off and need to sell NOW.

Important: #Tigers have HUGE incentive to trade Yoenis Cespedes because he's ineligible for qualifying offer after season.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 28, 2015

Detroit has now lost 5 out of their last six games and has slipped to 4th place in the AL Central. Miguel Cabrera isn’t coming back anytime soon, and Justin Verlander isn’t the same pitcher we all saw 3 or 4 seasons ago. They have trade assets that could make their rebuild much shorter, and if Dombrowski decides to become a seller, he must look to the Houston Astros.

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The Astros could target Cespedes, the Cuban OF, who’s hitting .289 this season with 17 home runs, 28 doubles, and a 2.6 WAR. Cespedes could play left field in Houston and give the Astros a much more consistent bat in the middle of the order. Detroit could easily benefit from the depth in the Astros farm system and add pieces that it lost in recent deadline acquisitions when they played the role of buyers.

The Tigers might be willing to add more volume over quality due to their weak minor league system, leaving the Astros more room to hold on to their top prospects. Instead of giving up Brett Phillips, A.J. Reed, and Mark Appel, the Astros might be able to reach into their second tier and trade Domingo Santana, J.D. Davis, and Adrian Houser. If the Astros can do this, I would definitely welcome a Cespedes trade with Detroit.

Next: Don't Trade For Cespedes

Don’t Trade For Cespedes

Jul 22, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) hits a single in the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Astros do not need to trade for an outfielder. Just look at what happened last night for an example. The Astros pounced on one of the best pitchers that their division rival has to offer. We shelled CJ Wilson and the Angels bullpen, pouring on ten runs in a win. The offense did have a couple of quiet days in Kansas City, but overall I think it would improve the team much more to acquire a bullpen arm or another starter.

Another position that the Astros need more help at is first base, where Chris Carter and Jon Singleton split time. That duo definitely won’t cut it during the playoffs, so Jeff Luhnow needs to address that spot. George Springer will return in September and shore up the outfield, and Jed Lowrie will take over at third base in a few days. There’s just no real need for Cespedes at the time.

Jeff Luhnow is spending his time more efficiently by going after Hamels, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, David Price, Jeff Samardzija, and other top pitchers around the league. Although Cespedes will provide a lot more consistency in an Astros middle of the order that is very shaky, we don’t NEED him.

All in all, I think that the Astros should turn their focus in other directions and not acquire Cespedes. But, if it’s the best-case scenario, here’s what I would offer Detroit:

Tigers Get: Preston Tucker, Akeem Bostick, and Adrian Houser

Astros Get: Yoenis Cespedes

Next: Will Jeff Luhnow Go All In for Cole Hamels?

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