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Cespedes' Free Agency Pushed To January
Yoenis Cespedes found a place in all of our hearts with a life-changing 20-minute scouting video back in early November. Fans who have been yearning for more can now be satiated, as Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus brings us the much-anticipated sequel (note: this edition, sadly, has no sound).
The video clocks in at over 28 minutes and features plenty of filler including about two or three total minutes of Cespedes stretching prior to various drills. However, it also features about a 10-minute batting practice session highlighted by two out-of-the-stadium bombs and a left-handed homer to center just for show, as he's not a true switch-hitter. Cespedes also fires off some impressive speed and throwing drills, tops his previous best in the vertical jump by reaching the 50-inch plateau, and works out on the beach with former NFL runningback Ahman Green.
The video also features the 26-year-old Cespedes meeting with front office and field personnel from several teams including the Marlins, Red Sox, Cubs, Tigers, and Phillies. As Goldstein points out, this is easy to read into, but difficult to draw any actual information from. A few of his drills had over 200 scouts in attendance (according to Edgar Mercedes, president of the Born To Play Academy in the Dominican Republic and producer of the video), so it's obvious that many, many more teams had representatives there.
The real importance of this, however, is that Goldstein provides a possible timeline for Cespedes' free agency. Mercedes tells Goldstein that Cespedes hopes to have residency in the Dominican Republic established "in the coming days," but that's not the end of the process. It will then take two or three days for him to be cleared by Major League Baseball, and then perhaps another 10-15 days before the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) distinguishes Cespedes as a Dominican.
This pushes Cespedes' free agency back into January, meaning that those who are anxiously awaiting some news on the Cuban outfielder will have to curb their appetites by watching some of the (allegedly) 500-foot bombs he hits in this newest video until he signs... or until a third video is released.
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