There existed a rumor, not even that long ago, that Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes didn't want to play for the Miami Marlins. Read that again. There was a rumor that a talented baseball player out of Cuba didn't want to play for an improving and suddenly spendthrift team in Miami. A team that had said publicly that it would be "aggressive to the point of stupidity" when it came to trying to lure the Cuban.
Yeah, that rumor never really made any sense, unless Yoenis Cespedes is some kind of baseball hipster. Based on this picture, from Juan C. Rodriguez, we can say with a high degree of certainty that Yoenis Cespedes is not any kind of hipster.
That's Cespedes arriving at the Miami airport. In Miami, he's going to meet with the Marlins. And according to this report, also from Juan C. Rodriguez, the Marlins are - unsurprisingly - believed to be the favorites to sign the outfielder:
Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes is scheduled to land in Miami Tuesday afternoon. According to an American League source from a club that's been monitoring his free agency, the Marlins likely will be his future employer.
Other teams with interest are thought to be the Tigers, Cubs, White Sox, Orioles and A's, and maybe one of them comes up with the winning bid in the end, but the Marlins almost look inevitable. The fit is so perfect, and signing Cespedes would give the Marlins one more high-priced splash to end the offseason.
Cespedes intends to make a decision in time to play in spring training. He's currently free to negotiate, or I should say the agency that represents him is currently free to negotiate, although Cespedes can't actually play until he's cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Because Yoenis Cespedes is a foreign asset. They're all just assets. Assets who play a game for our amusement until they are replaced with superior assets.