A Cespedes for All Seasons

It may be the season of giving but this is getting ridiculous.

Take for instance, this nugget of insight courtesy of Ken Rosenthal which sent Twitter into a frenzy on Wednesday.

That’s a little more than most A’s fans would like to give. Before Rosenthal could even complete the second part of his tweet, fans began voicing displeasure at the very hint of Oakland’s beloved slugger departing for a new home in the desert. After all, just the day before all indications pointed towards the Athletics shooting for the stars, and going full bore in search of that elusive championship as early as next season. So why would they trade their key offensive cog? Rosenthal, quickly doused the fire of fear with his next contribution.

A collective sigh of relief was expressed, as whatever discussions were had between Billy Beane and Kevin Towers thankfully failed to reach fruition. As expected, with two years, and $21 million remaining on his contract, there remains no sense of immediate urgency for the Athletics to part with Yoenis Cespedes. What the rumors resembled, and what was later confirmed — was simply Billy Beane doing his due diligence of listening to an offer for his slugger. It reached a stage where players were discussed, and it ended there with neither team satisfied with the structure of a deal.

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Without the pressures of a trade deadline, or a mandate to trim the budget, Beane has the luxury of gauging the interest of teams desperate to obtain power at a high cost. Outside of a “monster return” as Rosenthal stipulated, it’s hard to fathom Cespedes in a different uniform next spring. As enticing as it may be to add young talent such as Tyler Skaggs, and A.J. Pollock, they weren’t nearly enough to seal the deal, and with their names leaking to the public I’d imagine opposing general managers have clearly received the message that it will take a major haul for Oakland to surrender Cespedes.

By now it’s common knowledge, that the amount of truly untouchable players in the Oakland organization are few and far between. Anyone could be part of a deal at any moment, and it stands to reason that there are a multitude of aborted trade scenarios that pass through the pipelines of Oakland’s executive office that never see the light of day. This one slipped out. So rest easy, but be aware. Because as an A’s fan, it’s best not to get too attached.