Report: D-backs tried to land Yoenis Cespedes from A’s in exchange for A.J. Pollock and Tyler Skaggs
While ESPN.com senior baseball writer Jerry Crasnick suggested Wednesday that the Arizona Diamondbacks’ biggest target this offseason was an elite starting pitcher, their first big rumor of the winter involved acquiring a power bat.
According to FOXSports.com MLB writer Ken Rosenthal, the D-backs and Oakland Athletics were in talks this week to swap A.J. Pollock, Tyler Skaggs and more for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.
Sources: #Athletics, #DBacks discussed trade that would have sent Cespedes to AZ for Skaggs-Pollock-plus. However…
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2013
Both teams now say they were not comfortable with particular deal. For one thing, #Athletics only would trade Cespedes for monster return.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2013
In just his second big league season, Cespedes hit .246 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI with the Athletics. During his rookie season, the 28-year-old Cuban finished 10th in the MVP voting, hitting .292 with 23 home runs, 82 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
While the deal broke down because both teams “were not comfortable,” Rosenthal added that the Pollock-Skaggs combination could be used later on to acquire a power bat.
Pollock hit .269 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 137 games. Skaggs, who went back and forth between Arizona and Triple-A Reno last season, went 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA in seven starts.
