Mets will reportedly be in no rush to lock up Yoenis Cespedes
Cespedes is expected to opt out of his contract with the Mets after the World Series
The Mets “are willing to wait” on Yoenis Cespedes instead of attempting to re-sign him quickly if he opts out of his contract as expected, reports Buster Olney of ESPN.
Olney says this is “a luxury afforded” to the Mets “by the strength of the rest of their team and by a market that will be flush with sluggers.”
Cespedes, 31, hit .280/.354/.530 with 31 HR in 132 games this past season.
Since being acquired from the Tigers on July 31, 2015, he has hit .282/.348/.554 with 48 HR and 130 RBI in 189 games.
He’s expected to opt out of the final two years of his contract after the World Series, though he indicated during the season that he wanted to remain with the Mets.
This method worked for the Mets last offseason, when they locked up Cespedes late. But is it wise to attempt that again?
Before we get to that, let’s dispel this myth perpetuated by Olney that the market is “flush with sluggers.”
The “sluggers” Olney is referring to are Edwin Encarnacion (34 years old), Jose Bautista (36), and perhaps Josh Reddick (30). Beyond that, there are players like 31-year-old Mark Trumbo , who alternates horrific years with great ones and Ian Desmond, who does the same. So no, the market is not “flush” with sluggers.
Cespedes is the cream of the crop offensively, and the Mets and every other team in baseball knows it.
And let’s also dispel the myth that the rest of the Mets’ team is so strong that they can afford to wait this out.
Their pitching staff is that strong. Their offense is not.
I wrote the following about Cespedes a few weeks ago, and every word still holds true:
In less than a year and a half as a Met, he has become beloved by the fan base. And he’s now referred to as ‘The Lion King,’ with fans dressing up as Simba from the film and bringing little Simba dolls to games.
That makes Cespedes extra special, but his bat is what makes him a must-keep.
And the Mets letting him leave, while being an impossibly stupid baseball decision, would also infuriate the fan base.
We’ve seen what the Mets’ offense is like when Cespedes isn’t in the lineup. We don’t want to see that again, and the team can’t afford to play around with this negotiation.
We don’t know if the Mets attempted to extend Cespedes during the season and we don’t know if they’re attempting to extend him now before he opts out.
All we can go by are the reports. And if the above report by Olney is accurate, they’re playing a dangerous game.
Yes, it’s likely that his agents want to take him to free agency to see how much he can get. But it wouldn’t hurt to try to prevent that — as the Mets did with Mike Piazza before he hit free agency after the 1998 season.
And if/when Cespedes opts out of the two years and $47.5 million remaining on his deal, the Mets should be the ones going to him — not the other way around.
With roughly $50 million already earmarked for Cespedes to cover 2017 and 2018, they would probably be able to retain him by adding three years to his existing deal. Instead, they’re content to sit back and wait?
If the Mets lose Cespedes, they’ll be losing their only difference-maker on offense. They’ll be losing the current face — along with Noah Syndergaard — of their franchise. And they’ll infuriate a fan base that has held up its end of the bargain through thick and thin.
It’s hard to argue with the strategies GM Sandy Alderson has employed recently. But he simply can’t afford to swing and miss on Cespedes.
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