Yoenis Cespedes returns to Mets on three-year contract
Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, the last of the high-end free agents, on Friday agreed to return to the New York Mets on a three-year contract, a negotiation that preyed on a thinned market for the 30-year-old Cuban and in the end pitted the Mets and their NL East rivals, the Washington Nationals.
Cespedes comes off a 35 home-run season in which, after being traded from the Detroit Tigers, he energized a mid-summer run by the Mets and charmed a fan base thirsty for its team's relevance. Three months after their season ended in the World Series, the Mets appeared to have only half-hearted interest in Cespedes, who was expected to command a nine-figure salary over at least five years. The Nationals are believed to have made an offer in that range this week, and the Mets countered with an offer that would allow Cespedes to re-enter the market sooner and with less competition.
Cespedes is expected to receive approximately $75 million over three seasons, pending a physical. The first year of the contract is worth $27.5 million. He can opt out of the contract after 2016, allowing him to re-enter the free-agent market when the competition is not as stiff. MLB Network was first to report news of the agreement.
The news that Cespedes would consider a short-term alternative to free agents of comparable value – Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, for two – should have reinvigorated Cespedes' market, though it seems his choice in the final hours was between the Mets and Nationals.
Until then, the Mets maintained they were comfortable with a roster that would ride their starting pitching and a lineup that lost Daniel Murphy (to the Nationals) and appeared to have lost Cespedes, but added second baseman Neil Walker and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Instead, they return a power bat to their lineup under a contract that will not be a long-term burden. For that, they can partially thank the circumstances of Cespedes' free agency, in which he appeared to overreach and led other clubs to fill their lineup holes with the likes of Chris Davis (Baltimore) and Upton (Detroit).
By late January, Cespedes found a good portion of free-agent money had gone to starting pitchers, and then to other outfielders. Heyward signed with the Chicago Cubs for eight years and $184 million. Alex Gordon went back to Kansas City. Davis, after some stops and starts, got $161 million from the Orioles. And this week Upton signed with the Tigers. Both the Orioles and Tigers were possible destinations for Cespedes, who appeared to be Plan B for both. The Mets didn't seem to be in the mood to spend for him, the Los Angeles Angels had ducked under the luxury-tax threshold, and other clubs – the Chicago White Sox among them – preferred a shorter-term commitment.
The Nationals did not appear well situated, either, given less than two weeks ago they'd traded for center fielder Ben Revere. They already had Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth on the corners, along with Michael Taylor to platoon with Revere. Werth, 36, has been slowed by injuries in recent seasons and batted .221 in 88 games in 2015, but in the three previous seasons hit .303 with an on-base percentage near .400. He also has $42 million remaining on a contract that runs two more seasons and has full no-trade protection.
The Nationals also were attempting to cover themselves for future seasons. Werth's contract runs out in two seasons, Revere can be a free agent after 2017, and Harper is under control through 2018.
In four big-league seasons following his defection from Cuba, Cespedes played in Oakland, Boston, Detroit and New York, during which he batted .271 and slugged .486. He was an All-Star, twice a Gold Glove winner, and most recently won the hearts of Mets fans when he hit 17 home runs in the final two months of 2015.
Cespedes' career on-base percentage is .319, which didn't do him any favors, and his defensive reputation seems to exceed his actual acumen, which remains very good.
Still, there's the home runs, which spiked in 2015 after seasons of 23, 26 and 22, and his batting average – .291 – was highest since his rookie season. Additionally, he has thrived with runners in scoring position (.305 batting average) and with two out and runners in scoring position (.292). He also had one of the worst strikeout-to-walk comparisons in the game last season – 141 strikeouts to 33 walks – a shortcoming that has worsened in each of his four seasons.
He is, at times, a breathtaking athlete and, at others, the guy who kicked the ball all over two outfields in the World Series. He is better suited for left field, which is Werth's position, or right field, which is Harper's.
Cespedes was recalled in New York first for being the club's second choice at the trading deadline. The Mets struck a deal with Detroit for Cespedes only after failing to acquire Carlos Gomez from Milwaukee. Gomez, the Mets believed, was a physical risk. Upon arriving in New York, Cespedes lifted a lifeless Mets offense. He had eight home runs and 23 RBIs in August, then nine home runs and 21 RBIs in September. The Mets buried the Nationals in the NL East as a result, and rode the momentum of their starting pitching (and Murphy) into the franchise's first World Series in 15 years. The Mets lost to the Kansas City Royals in five games when they batted .193. Cespedes, among the culprits, hit .150 without an extra-base hit in 20 games, perhaps in part because of a shoulder injury.
