KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The last strong attempt by a team to sign Yoenis Cespedes came about 13 months ago by the Red Sox.
The Red Sox obtained him from the A’s on July 31, 2014, for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes. He had one year left on his original contract for $10.5 million in 2015. Boston offered a five-year extension at about $75 million and, internally, discussed going toward Hunter Pence’s deal of five years at $90 million.
Cespedes only had been in Boston a few months. He was unsure whether he wanted to stay long term or not.