Rosenthal: Mets, Cespedes agree to 3-year deal with opt-out after 2016
La Potencia is back in Queens.
According to FOX Sports insider Ken Rosenthal, Yoenis Cespedes has agreed to a three-year deal with the New York Mets:
Source: #Mets closing in on Cespedes.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
Cespedes deal with #Mets expected to be in three-year, $70M range with one-year opt-out.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
Source: Cespedes deal with #Mets includes no-trade clause. Had higher offers. Pending physical. @Jonheyman and @JimBowden_ESPN on it.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
Three years, $75M for Cespedes from #Mets.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
So full Cespedes deal with #Mets, per sources: Three years, $75M, full no-trade clause, opt-out after one year. Pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
If Cespedes opts out with #Mets, his one-year salary will be $27.5M, second-highest AAV ever for a position player. @jonheyman first.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
Cespedes hit .287 with 17 homers across 53 games in Queens last season, but it was an incredible run from August 21 to September 14 that sparked a playoff run for the Mets.
In those 22 games, the 30-year-old outfielder hit .333 with five doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 34 RBI, moving the Mets from 3 1/2 games up in the division to 9 1/2 in that span. They would, of course, go on to claim the NL East title, making the playoffs for the first time since 2009 before falling to the Royals in the World Series.
With this deal, the Mets solidify their lineup for at least 2016 -- at which point Cespedes could hit the market in a much smaller free agent class compared to this offseason.
Over his four-year MLB career, Cespedes owns a .271/.319/.486 slash line with 106 home runs in 575 games.
