Houston Astros: If Cespedes Signs, Which Outfielder Leaves?

Yoenis Cespedes would be a Major Addition for the Houston Astros, but the Move could Bring Much Change to the Current Outfield. 

No matter how much Evan Drellich says it’s not going to happen, I’m going to write about Yoenis Cespedes signing with the Houston Astros. I’ll admit, it’s definitely a close race for the power-hitting outfielder. There’s definitely a market for his services, and he will receive a lot of money. But, if the Astros truly are in on Cespedes, I can’t see how they at least would not have a decent shot at landing him.

In his article, Evan Drellich claimed to believe that the Astros are not willing to spend the money that Cespedes would demand right now, as the organization is not quite in that position yet. Drellich definitely has a point here, as Astros GM Jeff Luhnow was quoted as saying, “We’re still in the spot we’ve been in.” This “spot” that Luhnow refers to is probably one that does not include signing big-name free agents, since this Astros ownership group has not done that yet.

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But in my optimistic approach, I want to point out some key differences that separate Cespedes from some of the other big-name free agents. First, Cespedes does not have a qualifying offer linked to him, which means that the Astros would not be giving up their first round pick if they acquired him through free agency. The Astros front office values their draft picks, so acquiring a major talent while not giving up the future might be an attractive option.

A second reason for optimism is that Peter Gammons said watch out for the Astros on Cespedes, and he was one of the first reporters on the Astros’ interest in Scott Kazmir. That trade ended up happening, so I think Astros fans should have some confidence in Gammons’ reporting. (Note: This doesn’t mean that Astros fans should have diminishing confidence in Evan Drellich, he’s a great Astros writer)

So, for this article, we are going to look at what would happen if Cespedes actually joins the Houston Astros for 2016. There would definitely have to be some more moving and shaking involved to clear up what would be a very crowded outfield. There are a lot of fan favorites in the outfield, so whoever is moved would be a hard pill to swallow, but improvement in Major League Baseball rarely comes without sacrifice.

Next: Shaking Up the Astros Outfield: Jake Marisnick