A’s Agree to Terms with OF Yoenis Céspedes on Four-Year Contract

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s agreed to terms with outfielder Yoenis Céspedes (Yo-EHN-ees SES-peh-des)  on a four-year contract through the 2015 season, the club announced today.  To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A’s have placed third baseman Scott Sizemore on the 60-day disabled list.

Céspedes played for Granma in Cuba’s Serie Nacional for eight seasons before defecting following the 2010-11 season.  He batted .323 with 145 home runs and 464 RBI in 528 games over his final six seasons in Cuba. Céspedes led the league in runs (89) and RBI (99) and tied for the league lead in home runs (33), while batting .333 in 90 games during his final season in 2010-11.  The 26-year-old joined Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League during the playoffs this January and hit .143 with a home run and two RBI in nine games.

Céspedes played for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, batting .458 with two home runs and five RBI in six games.  He was also on Cuba’s World Cup team that season.  The right-handed hitter compiled his best batting average in 2005 when he hit .351 with 23 home runs and 78 RBI in 88 games.

He becomes the 11th Cuban-born player in Oakland A’s history.  The previous 10 were Campy Campaneris, Jose Canseco, Ozzie Canseco, Tito Fuentes, Orlando Gonzalez, George Lauzerique, Marty Martinez, Ariel Prieto, Diego Segui and Jose Tartabull.

Sizemore, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear to his left knee during the team’s first full-squad workout last Saturday, batted .249 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI in 93 games for the A’s in 2011.  He will undergo season-ending surgery later this month.

Céspedes statistics in Cuba follow: