Report: Braves have interest in Yoenis Cespedes

We still don’t have a clear idea of what the market for free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes looks like. But add the Atlanta Braves to the list of teams that are interested in finding out.

According to a report by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports on Wednesday, the Braves have registered “some interest” in the 30-year-old Cuban slugger.

braves are an interesting team that has some interest in cespedes. many calling, but some looking for a price.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2016

The intrigue doesn’t make too much sense on paper. The Braves appear to be in the midst of a factory reset on their roster this offseason based around younger talent. They also already have high-upside pieces in Hector Olivera and Ender Inciarte perched in left and center field, Cespedes’ two positions of choice.

The team does lack a righty with power that can protect Freddie Freeman in the batting order, but otherwise, it looks like a poor match.

Cespedes, the two-time Home Run Derby champion, has attracted widespread interest from other clubs, namely, the White Sox and the Orioles. But nothing concrete has materialized just yet, even as free agency moves into the dog days of January and February.

I still fully expect Cespedes’ market to heat up in due time. If nothing else, the fact that he has gone unsigned for this long opens up the door for a dark horse team like Atlanta to pull off a shocker. That a re-signing with the Mets appears to be out of the question certainly helps their case as well. However, practically speaking, this doesn’t look like much more than a probing interest on the part of the Braves at this particular point in time.

H/T Rotoworld