Yoenis Cespedes may be on the outs with the Boston Red Sox, and the San Diego Padres could be trying to acquire him this offseason. According to MLB.com, Padres general manager A.J. Preller is aggressively seeking to add top talent to the roster ahead of the 2015 season, and is seriously engaging the Sox.
The Red Sox have added third baseman Pablo Sandoval, one of Preller's original targets, and shortstop Hanley Ramirez already. Adding Ramirez created a logjam at shortstop, since they already had Xander Bogaerts, one of MLB's top prospects, installed there. Rumor has it Ramirez is going to become Boston's new left fielder-there's nowhere else in the infield for Bogaerts to move-but then what happens to Cespedes?
Well, the speculation is that San Diego has some pitchers that may be of use to Boston, whose rotation is currently headed by Clay Buchholz. One name brought up by Padres writer Corey Brock is Ian Kennedy, a former Yankees prospect familiar with the American League East.
Last season Kennedy was serviceable, going 13-13 in 33 starts with a 3.69 ERA and 1.289 WHIP. Those numbers would place him atop the Red Sox rotation, although there are rumors of the Sox aggressively pursuing Jon Lester or Cole Hamels (via trade).
Cespedes, who hit 22 home runs last season and drove in 100 RBI between the Oakland A's and Red Sox, would be a perfect fit for the Padres' power-starved batting order. He'd move to one of MLB's toughest hitting parks, but he was able to thrive in Oakland which also favors pitchers.
He would also start, which doesn't appear to be the plan in Boston unless the front office feels confident in his ability to man center field, or wants to shift Shane Victorino there and sit youngster Rusney Castillo.
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