Cespedes thinks Tigers were wrong to 'throw in the towel'

Yoenis Cespedes wasn't surprised the Detroit Tigers traded him, but that doesn't mean he agrees with the decision.

Sitting 3 1/2 games back of the second wild card, general manager Dave Dombrowski opted to ship the slugger to the New York Mets in an attempt to strengthen his minor-league depth.

"I don't think that was a very smart move," Cespedes told ESPN. "The team is only three games out of the wild card, and there is still a lot of baseball to be played - about 60 games.

"I don't think it was a good decision to throw in the towel this early. There's still a lot of baseball to be played. But I know this is a business, and I am sure they know what they’re doing."

Dombrowski acknowledged after the deal that he didn't believe the team was a serious World Series contender and that the organizational depth needed to be addressed.

Cespedes, an impending free agent at the end of the season, said he was certain he was going to be dealt after watching teammates David Price and Joakim Soria change teams, but it wasn't until the deadline approached.

"I was watching TV," Cespedes said. "There were just a few minutes left until the trade deadline, so I was keeping track because I knew a trade was in the works. I just kept on watching to see if I was going to get traded. With about nine minutes to go, I saw on the screen that I was traded. Then the manager came in and told me I had been traded."

Cespedes is slated to make his Mets debut Saturday and isn't overly familiar with the club.

"Honestly, I don't know much about the Mets, given the fact that they are in the National League," he said. "But the one thing I can tell you that I do know is how good their pitching is."