Yoeni Céspedes, a 26-year old star Cuban outfielder who defected from Cuba and is currently playing for the Cibao Eagles in the Dominican League, is a hot commodity right now. He has drawn interest from multiple MLB teams, including the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians, but Céspedes recently revealed that the Chicago Cubs have shown the most interest of any team so far. Then again, the process is far from over, as Céspedes himself recently told DiarioLibre.com:
"I've eaten a few times with them and talked a lot, but that does not mean it is safe for me to come to sign with them. I'm just telling it like it is, they have shown more interest than others."
The young slugger cannot officially sign with an MLB team until he secures residence in the Dominican Republic, so there is certainly still time for the market to shift, but at the moment Theo Epstein has the Chicago Cubs on the top of Céspedes' mind. That can only be a good thing for the organization. The Cubs recently sent sending vice president of scouting and player development, Jason McLeod, to the Dominican to watch Cespedes play, so they must like what they see, even though he opened play with just 2 hits in his first 19 plate appearances in the Dominican League.
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