Cespedes questions Athletics' ambitions: 'Don't they want to win a championship?'
Yoenis Cespedes was traded twice in a four month span last year, but it's the first deal by the Oakland Athletics that still has the Cuban outfielder scratching his head.
Owners of the best record in baseball at 63-45, the A's made a deadline move, flipping Cespedes and his 17 home runs to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-hander Jon Lester.
The Athletics would go 25-29 down the stretch before bowing out in the Wild Card game. The end result was a complete house cleaning, with Lester, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Norris, Jed Lowrie, Josh Donaldson, Luke Gregerson, John Jaso, Alberto Callaspo, and Brandon Moss all finding new homes this season.
Now owners of the worst record in the American League, the Athletics' attempted rebuild has so far been a disaster, leaving Cespedes unsure of the organization's main objective.
"[Former A's coach Ariel] Prieto would tell me Oakland is a school where they develop the players, then they let them go,'' Cespedes told reporters Monday. "I was a little surprised to see some of the main figures leave.
"Then, why operate? Don't they want to win a championship?''
Cespedes's time with the Red Sox was brief. After 51 games, the team opted to trade him to the Detroit Tigers in December in exchange for right-hander Rick Porcello.
The 29-year-old acknowledged that he was well aware that trade was coming.
"There were some rumors in Boston, things that were said about me that I said were not true, so I knew they were going to trade me,'' Cespedes said. "The first-base coach treated me like I was a rookie when I got there, wanted me to do things a rookie would do, and I told him I wasn't going to, so he started talking.''
Cespedes has flourished through 46 games with the Tigers, hitting .284/.314/.472 with five home runs, 16 doubles and 24 RBIs.
Despite his success, his impending free agency at the end of the season means it's possible he's with his fourth organization in less than two years come this winter.