I got my first glimpse of Yoenis Cespedes today. Interesting.

In the most recent attempt to reduce the Oakland A's pitching payroll, general manager Billy Beane traded many of his young pitchers that would soon be eligible for large paydays. That story has been well chronicled. In return, he added some very young and impressive arms that could form the nucleus of a good pitching staff until they, too, reach the pay window.

When Oakland first traded for pitchers like Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, Brad Peacock and Ryan Cook it was the offense that immediately drew questions. How would the Oakland A's score runs? Where would the power be generated? Good questions. At the time, there were few answers.

Suddenly, an empty shopping cart began being filled with a couple of goodies. First it was the signing of Manny Ramirez, the once frighteningly efficient power hitting outfielder destined to sit out the first 50 games of the season for a substance abuse suspension. Ramirez was signed to add some pop to an offense that could have been fighting a machine gun war with water pistols. The A's know that a third of the season will be gone when Man Ram gets his first big league at bat as the team's designated hitter. However, in the minds of the A's front office, the risk-reward equation seemed to skew in favor of signing Ramirez to an inexpensive $500,000 contract. If he hits, they can move him to a contender panting for a power hitter. And bring back some more prospects.

Then, after Manny was tucked away, they shocked the baseball establishment by signing Cuban native Yoenis Cespedes, a solid power hitting outfielder. After obtaining his visa, Cespedes has arrived at A's camp. He has played in 3 games. I saw him today. Here is what I saw from Manny Ramirez and Yoenis Cespedes.

During batting practice, Ramirez and Cespedes hit in the same group. They actually hit one after the other. Cespedes launched bombs to left field, his very powerful pull side. His stroke looked quick and short enough not to pop up the soft tosses being thrown his way. I didn't see him try to take pitches to the opposite field. I registered that in my think tank. He did however, show the power of his very strong trunk and upper body. In fact, Cespedes' thighs are huge. He reminded me of Frank Thomas in that regard. Not the overall body size or shape, but his huge, powerful thighs. He got his trunk into his swing. Great BP.

Mr. Ramirez did take some pitches to the opposite field and he didn't have the home run distance in his fly balls anywhere near that of Cespedes. In fact, Ramirez dribbled some balls through the infield to the outfield. His swing did lag on some pitches. To be fair, Manny is rusty. He is just getting back to baseball and he's trying hard to catch up.

Cespedes did not have a good day at the plate during the game. He was beaten badly by breaking balls. Off speed pitches bothered him. He didn't see many fastballs at all. He struck out twice and grounded out once. He was called out once on a slowish curve. I have no doubt about his power. He does, however, look like a dead pull hitter. Here's the concern. And this is important. Cespedes will have to learn to adjust from at-bat to at-bat or even from pitch to pitch. Scouts in the stands saw the same thing I did. Pitchers will throw him a steady diet of off-speed and breaking balls until he shows he can hit them. They will show him a high fastball to get him to swing and then mix in the variable speed secondary pitches. The word will spread quickly. They will test his ability to hit secondary pitches. Couple that with the fact he will have little to no protection in the batting order, and Cespedes could be in for a tough adjustment.

When Manny returns from suspension he may provide Cespedes with the protection he needs. He may not. Today, Manny hit a home run to left-center field. More about that later. However, without Manny in the lineup there will be little help for Yoenis. He will see a steady diet of off the plate pitches. He will have to lay off those and accept some bases on balls. His pitch recognition and plate discipline will be crucial to his success or will doom him to being an expensive mediocre player.

I had a chance to join several media members in the clubhouse to talk with both Manny and Cespedes. Interesting dynamic.

Cespedes indicated that the biggest difference he sees in playing here so far is the equipment and the fields. He said in Cuba they may have "15 balls to play with" in batting practice. He was overwhelmed at the amount of baseballs flying about in batting practice during his first experience. He said he is adjusting well and he is grateful to have Manny Ramirez around to help him. When asked (not by me) if he would grow his hair to Manny's length and have dreadlocks, he laughed and just said "no." I asked him, you guessed it, if he was adjusting to seeing lots of breaking balls and off speed pitches? He said he will" make the proper adjustments and work hard to hit them." That he is. He's a hard worker. For now, he is dependent upon a very patient interpreter to communicate with the press. He does not look overwhelmed by the process. In fact, he is ready to contribute to the team in any way he can. He is not frustrated. He looks very professional

Ramirez indicated that he hit a low pitch that didn't have a lot of velocity for his home run. He used to cream that pitch and he did again today. It wasn't majestic, but it had the distance. It was the best swing I have seen him take this spring. He said he is working hard and "Rome wasn't built in a day." Its the same quote he provided to writers before the game. He smiled and joked around with his teammates, but it was as if he had heard it all before and wanted to move on.

I do believe that Ramirez will shepherd Cespedes like a little brother. I do believe he will be helpful to Cespedes. I don't think he will introduce his newest teammate to bad habits. At least I hope not. Remember, whatever one thinks of Manny Ramirez, he is one very hard worker. But there will be 50 games when Ramirez is not around for Cespedes. That's important.

Billy Beane has indicated uncertainty regarding having Cespedes make the trip to Japan for the two games against Seattle later this month (while Spring Training is still going on) that open the season. I don't see how its possible to leave him home. He is virtually one of their only potential power sources. He plays solid centerfield and they spent a fortune to get him. But, stranger things have happened. I still think he makes the trip, provided there are no issues about him being able to enter Japan to play, which I doubt there are.

So here is what I have seen so far. And it has only been 3 at-bats. Only 3 at-bats. I will see more.

Cespedes is a strong, mature young man with power to spare. I have not seen him swing at a fastball yet because he didn't see many today. I believe pitchers will make him adjust to their secondary pitches. He has little protection around him for assistance. His plate discipline and pitch recognition are the two areas he must work on immediately. He's a good outfielder, from what I've seen. i did not see him have to take a route to a ball. Everything was hit to him. He has a strong arm. He will play center and Coco Crisp will play left. I think I can report that with certainty. Cespedes has good mechanics at the plate. I saw a nice, easy swing without too much length and with quick hands. He looks to be a pull hitter.

I don't like the division in which Cespedes plays and the players around him in the lineup. As a result, when I do rank him it will not be among the elite or above average outfielders for this year. Josh Reddick is not a power hitter. He will be in the batting order somehwhere around Ramirez (after the first 50 games) and Cespedes. While Ramirez is gone, look for Jonny Gomes and Seth Smith to serve as DH's. You make the call on both of them.

Follow me on Twitter @BerniePleskoff and on MLB.com in the Voices section. As always, I welcome your comments and questions. I will be tweeting every day from a Spring Training game and I'll be pleased to hear from you.