During the summer, a year and a half of Yoenis Cespedes was worth two months of Jon Lester. During the winter, a year of Cespedes is apparently worth a year of Rick Porcello. The Red Sox and Tigers have swapped the two players, each with one year left before hitting the free agent market.
https://twitter.com/CJNitkowski/status/543051898186903552
The #Tigers have acquired Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson, and Gabe Speier. from the #RedSox for Rick Porcello. (via @alexspeier)
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 11, 2014
Porcello will join a rebuilt Red Sox rotation along with the newly-acquired Wade Miley. Cespedes will essentially replace Torii Hunter in Detroit’s outfield, likely shifting Anthony Gose or Rajai Davis to a bench role.
Porcello will turn 26 this month, and shined in 2014 in Detroit. He posted a career-best 3.43 ERA in a career-high 204 2/3 innings, striking out 129 and walking 41. The 29-year old Cespedes struggled at times in a 2014 season that was split between Oakland and Boston, hitting .260/.301/.450 with a career-low 22 homers. The salaries for 2015 are close to an even swap – Cespedes will make $10.5 million, and MLBTR projects Porcello to make $12.2 million in his final year of arbitration.
