Justin Upton signing his contract with Detroit is huge for him, the Tigers and Cespedes. For Upton, it means he has a place to play this season. Even though he's played for three different teams in the last five years, he has a place to play the next few years. The beauty of this contract for Upton is that after three years in Detroit he can opt out if he so desires. Upton basically got what he wanted from Detroit. Upton insisted, going into free agency, that he would not accept a short-term deal this winter. He wanted at least a five-year deal that would also pay him near the $23 million annual average salary that Jason Heyward received. Boy did he get it, and when he's on his game, he's worth every penny. So it gives him a little stability now, and allows him to make a big payday if things don't pan out for him in the Motor City.
If your Detroit, you get a huge need filled. They gave away Cespedes to the Mets last July, and have been looking to fill that gap since he left. Detroit did finish dead last in the American League Central last season. Upton will be the Tigers’ starting left fielder and provide another power bat in the middle of a lineup that is already loaded with talents like Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Victor Martinez. Upton hit .251 with 26 homers and 81 RBI last season playing his home games at spacious Petco Park in San Diego. He has hit 190 career homers, including at least 26 or more homers in four of the past five seasons. So the power isn't a question with him. Upton also has stayed relatively healthy throughout his career, playing in at least 149 games in each of the last five seasons. The only outfielders who have played more games during that stretch are Andrew McCutchen, Adam Jones, Ichiro Suzuki and Jay Bruce. So it gives the Tigers another power bat and a solid defensive outfield to bolster an already good Detroit Outfield.
Now lets go take a look at Cespedes shall we.He's been in the Majors now four years hitting just over 100 home runs (106 to be exact) and he's driven in 367 runs. He's twice driven in 80 runs (80 and 82 in his first two years) and the last two years have been 100 and 105 RBI. Those are fantastic numbers. But there's a question mark. In those four years his been in the majors, Cespedes has played for four different teams, three years in Oakland, half a year in Boston, half a year in Detroit and half a year with the New York Mets. He has all the talent in the world, he just won a gold glove with the time he spent in Detroit last year. He can do it all and he just turned 30. The problem is that nobody has signed him yet. I think a lot of it has to do with the length of the deal, as he's looking for at least a five to six year contract and at the price of around what Upton just signed.
This Justin Upton contract is a sign of things for Cespedes. This deal for Upton means that the market for cespedes is going down further. Look at who else has been signed, you have Jason Heyward joining the Chicago Cubs, Alex Gordon staying with the Kansas City Royals and now Upton choosing the Tigers. What I think is still holding him up is the length of the deal. I know he wants to play in a single place for a while, which anybody really wants. But he also wants to get paid what he thinks he's worth, which I don't fault him for. He is human after all.
So that leads one to think, where would be the best fit for him? Well one option is he could go back to the Mets. I know they have Granderson and Conforto already playing the corner outfield spots, so he can rotate between playing center and left. Hell the Mets can use him anywhere in the outfield, which they did during some stretches last year. They really need his power bat in the middle of that Mets lineup, because they don't have much power in the middle of that lineup to speak of. Now if the Mets could stop being so damn cheap and get this thing done all would be happy. There's also a few other teams that could fit with Cespedes. Toronto could be a landing spot, if not now then maybe next year. Only reason I say Toronto is because Cespedes’ presence (if he goes there) would reduce the sting from the possible free-agent departures of Jose Bautista and/or Edwin Encarnacion after the coming season. St. Louis could be a fit, because hey they need somebody to replace Jason Heyward. I've also heard the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox names thrown around. But to be honest, from where I sit, the Mets would be the best fit for him. He liked it here in New York. He'd get playing time and he'd be on a team that has a good chance to possibly win right now.
Where will he sign? Only time will tell. But something has to get done soon, because the window of opportunity is closing quickly.
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