Why Yoenis Cespedes is getting a $10 million pay cut from Mets
The New York Mets and oft-injured slugger Yoenis Cespedes have agreed to restructure his contract for 2020 with the team reportedly saving more than $10 million in the process, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Cespedes was due to be paid $29.5 million in 2020 despite missing the entire 2019 season and only playing 38 games in 2018. Cespedes signed a four-year, $110 million deal with the Mets after the 2016 season, which has been a total disaster, with the once-star outfielder only playing 119 games in that time.
This is more complex than just a salary reduction, which is uncommon in the land of baseball’s guaranteed contracts. Cespedes’ most recent injury relates to what he said was an accident on his ranch in Florida last year. He said he stepped in a hole and fractured his ankle in multiple places.
Even though the Mets’ repeated Cespedes’ account of what happened publicly, behind the scenes they didn’t believe it and reportedly filed a grievance and withheld part of his 2019 salary, according to Passan.
Andy Martino of SNY is reporting that rather than having a hearing related to the Mets’ grievance, the two sides agreed to the settlement:
Sources: Cespedes’ contract was amended because if his injury.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 13, 2019
Sources: Mets and Cespedes were moving closer to a hearing related to his ranch injury and a potential contract violation. This settlement enables the player to stay w team one more year, and enables team to pay him a lot less.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 13, 2019
Exact details of the settlement haven’t been released, only that the Mets are saving “more than $10 million.” The fascinating part of this may actually be that it was agent Brodie Van Wagenen who negotiated Cespedes’ contract with the Mets after the 2016 season and now it’s Van Wagenen as Mets’ GM who is getting some additional breathing room because of the settlement.
Unless Cespedes falls in steps in another hole — or hurts himself another way — he and the Mets both intend for him to play in 2020.
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