Cespedes Available

Here’s a scene from a baseball front office: Owner: Prince Fielder was our last hope. GM: No, there is another. Yoenis Cespedes, the Cuban defector, established residency in the Dominican Republic and can now become a free agent. Detroit was one of the clubs interested in the slugger. He likely would have been a much cheaper option than Fielder, although having never played in the majors he also would have carried more risk. Why didn’t Detroit wait? They may not have been impressed with what they saw of Cespedes. The team needs to win now, with Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera in their primes. Another team was about to move on Fielder. I tend to think it’s number two. However, if Detroit waited a few days, they might have been able to bring the price down on Prince by threatening to go with Cespedes. I wonder if the Nationals will make a move for the Cuban? With Mike Morse under contract for two years, they have time to send Cespedes to the minors to...