Why the A's might have traded Cespedes, IMO.
He makes $10.5 million next season. That is a huge amount for the A's. That's 1/8 their entire payroll. There was no chance the A's would re-sign him after 2015.
Cespedes has a .767 OPS this season, .788 for a career, and has gone from a .861 to a .736 to a .767. We aren't talking a Trout and a .970, or a Pig and a .943, or a Stanton and a .935. We are talking a sub .800 hitter.
We all know his exploits with the arm. And yet he's been barely over a replacement player this season on D at a 0.6. His previous seasons, he's been a -1.1 and a -0.5.
Moneyball. What I saw from the movie (OK don't laugh, no way am I going to read a book), OBP is a big part of Beane's thinking. And Cespedes has a .303 OBP this season. That puts him 10th on the team for players with over 100 PA's.
But I do think that Cespedes will crush in that bandbox of Boston. His skillset fits much better there, than in Oakland. So it's a win for the Red Sox. For the A's, the Mausoleum will always be a pitchers park first. Beane is looking to win now, because on his payroll limitations, now might be it, because tomorrow he might not be able to afford any of the main players.