Detroit Tigers: 5 Free Agent Targets for 2016

Jul 11, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) waits for his gear after the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Twins win 9-5. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

#1 Yoenis Cespedes

By and large, Detroit Tigers’ fans have fully embraced Yoenis Cespedes. Although he has had an up and down season, getting hot by going over .300 but recently hitting a cold streak and falling to a .285 average, he has quickly become a fan favorite. It seems that more fans dread a possible trade of Cespedes more than one involving David Price.

There has always been rumors of Cespedes not meshing well with his teams, including one report which said “he marches to his own drum and the coaches hate him.”

The Tigers have not had a good season to date and the clubhouse has had an issue here or there (i.e. David Price zero uniform miscommunication) but nothing has escaped about Cespedes.

He even reportedly stated his desire to stay in Detroit (which he has said all season long) even if he is traded at the deadline.

It is no secret that Dave Dombrowski has desired Cespedes’ skills for several years. The Tigers were very much in the sweepstakes to sign him out of Cuba during the 2012 offseason, but ultimately bowed out when they changed course to sign Prince Fielder.

Perhaps this could be a factor because if Dombrowski is no longer the Tigers’ GM, the newbie may not be as enamored with Cespedes.

Time will tell, but it is clear that the addition of Cespedes in the lineup, even with his slight inconsistency, has stabilized it, even without Miguel Cabrera.

Cespedes is still young, will be 30 next year, and has several productive years in front of him to serve as part of the core to the rebuilding/revamping/reshuffling effort (whatever you want to call it) along with Miggy, Jose Iglesias, an emerging Nick Castellanos, J.D. Martinez and James McCann.

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