Padres have a desire to be Cespedes' last resort

Once the Padres' 2015 LF, Justin Upton, signed with the Tigers the dream of him returning to San Diego officially died. It would seem though that some, maybe even the Padres, don't want that kind of dreaming to die. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote this about the Padres and a connection with free agent Yoenis Cespedes:

According to a source, the Padres are monitoring the market for Cespedes, though the source also indicated a match is unlikely.

After having a slugger like Upton penciled in to the middle of the order every day, I can see the allure of wanting a replacement for his big bat. That being said, the last part of Lin's statement is the probably the most important part. This match is unlikely. A rebuilding team like the Padres isn't the best landing spot for the Cuban OF. Sure, getting him on a short-term contract would be nice for the Padres and perhaps a chance for Cespedes to try his hand at free agency again in the near future, but mostly likely there are other teams that would be willing to do the same. There were some rumors that Justin Upton might consider such a deal, but it didn't take long for his camp to deny and only a little bit longer for him to get a long term deal out of Detroit. Something similar is probably in line for Cespedes. Doesn't hurt to kick the tires though.

For those that need an introduction to Cespedes, he was signed by the A's out of Cuba 4 years ago. In his 4 major league season he has hit over 100 HRs, including 35 last year. He sports a .271 batting, but has hit over .290 in two different seasons including last year. The A's traded him to the Red Sox midseason of 2014 in order to acquire Jon Lester to bolster their pitching rotation. The Red Sox dealt him that offseason to the Tigers to get a different pitcher: Rick Porcello. Last season, the Tigers fell out of the playoff race and dealt him to the Mets for prospects. He played some CF when he first made it to the big leagues, but has since been relegated mostly to LF duty. He will be entering his age 30 season in 2016.