New York Mets: Yoenis Cespedes Plans To Opt Out Of Deal
The New York Mets had a rough end to their season in a 3-0 loss to the San Fransisco Giants in the National League Wild Card game earlier this month. More bad news is on the way. According to Jon Heyman, Yoenis Cespedes is planning on opting out of his current deal with the Mets after the World Series.
Cespedes, 31, had two years and $47.5 million left on his deal with the New York Mets, a deal he signed in January of this year. Cespedes is now eligible to negotiate freely with all 30 teams this off-season. The Mets swooped in at the last second during free agency, as they expected Cespedes to sign a huge deal elsewhere. The deal never came and Cespedes was forced to negotiate a more team-friendly deal with the Mets. This off-season, the Mets may not be that lucky.
Cespedes had another solid season with the Mets. The outfielder hit .280/.354/.530 with 31 home runs and 86 RBI. Those numbers would get any outfielder in baseball a gigantic deal. The Mets will have to decide whether they are willing to offer up all that money. The Mets can offer Cespedes an qualifying offer, guaranteeing a draft pick if he decides to go elsewhere.
The Mets acquired Jay Bruce right before the trade deadline this season. This move gave the Mets an issue in their outfield in that they already had Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson, and Yoenis Cespedes on the roster. The Mets will have to move one of these outfielders before next season. With Cespedes opting out of his current deal, he looks to be the odd-man out in the situation. The Mets will miss him but they basically forced him out when they traded for Bruce.
Cespedes also had the Mets thinking that he was going to play a lot of center field this season. With some lingering injuries, he was not able to stay in center. The value for Cespedes drops for any team, if he is not able to play there. The Mets were forced to send Curtis Granderson to center most of the time, which is not the situation the team was looking for.
With Cespedes opting-out of his deal, the Mets have a very big decision to make. If they decide to make a play for Cespedes, it won’t be cheap. But if they decide to let him walk, they will have to scramble to find a power-bat for their lineup next season. This decision could make or break the Mets chances of contending next season.
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