Yoenis Cespedes Signs With the A's

The news on Yoenis Cespedes signing with the A's broke during our radio show this morning. Here are my first reactions: - I will never, ever, ever doubt rumors of a mystery team being involved again. Well, at least until 2014, when I will have forgotten that lessen. - Why did Cespedes choose the A's? Simply put, from what I've read, it was by far the best deal offered. Cespedes will get $36 million over four years, and equally importantly, will agree to not offer arbitration after that fourth year, making him a free agent. Nobody else offered the combination of the dollars per year and the ability to become a free agent over that short term. - Why did the A's go aggressively after Cespedes? Mostly because he's the one "blue-chip" who would take their money. Of course, Cespedes is risky - the track record of players coming over from Cuba is mixed, and the stats that we do have to rely upon are notoriously unreliable and difficult to translate. T...